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Affectionate Witness
by Thomas R. Smith
This poem was first published in Men's Voices journal
This poem appears in Vol. 1 #1 (Winter 1998) of Men's Voices journal.
 
This poem appears in Thomas R. Smith's latest book, The Dark Indigo Current
Holy Cow! Press
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My father on birthdays
phoned faithfully
to recall that arctic
January morning he drove
my mother to the hospital;
"We had a new
forty-seven Chevy.
It was fifty below, and
we could barely scrape a pin-
hole to see out the windshield."
Listening, I'd
imagine the Chevy cautiously
rounding the slippery
curves of the River Road
in darkness, the same
he drove five years
later, with me buried in
a Blackhawk comic book
all the way to Saint Joe's
the August my
brother Terry arrived.
Each birthday I'd press
the receiver closer
to hear the old man's
blurred recitation, and later
chuckle over the repetitions
of age without admitting
even to myself the sense
of renewal that came
with that simple ritual,
which now that he's gone
is one of the things
I find myself missing
most about my father, his
affectionate witness
to three or four details
that made the story real,
and by which again
and again I was born.
© 1997 by Thomas R. Smith
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Hear RealAudio WebCasts from a reading by Robert Bly and Thomas R. Smith, editor of the first United States anthology of Alden Nowlan's poems, When He Went to the Store for a Loaf of Bread.
Other Poems by Thomas R. Smith
This appeared in:
Holy Cow! Press
$12.95
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Affectionate Witness, by Thomas R. Smith. This poem, published in Mr. Smith's most recent book, The Dark Indigo Current, was first published in M.E.N. Magazine.
The Boy Who Crawled, by Thomas R. Smith. This poem, published in Mr. Smith's most recent book, The Dark Indigo Current, was first published in M.E.N. Magazine.
The Reply, by Thomas R. Smith.
This poem was published in Mr. Smith's most recent book, The Dark Indigo Current.
The Road to Kenora, by Thomas R. Smith. This poem was published in Mr. Smith's most recent book, The Dark Indigo Current.
Admiring My Father, by Thomas R. Smith. This poem was published in Mr. Smith's most recent book, The Dark Indigo Current.
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This appeared in:
Holy Cow! Press
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My Father Promised Me a Sword, by Thomas R. Smith.
This poem first appeared in M.E.N. Magazine, and was published in Mr. Smith's recent poetry book Horse of Earth.
The Cruel One, by Thomas R. Smith. This poem first appeared in M.E.N. Magazine, and was published in Mr. Smith's recent poetry book Horse of Earth.
Come In from the Rain!, by Thomas R. Smith.
This poem originally appeared in M.E.N. Magazine, and was published in Mr. Smith's recent poetry book Horse of Earth.
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Late for Thanksgiving Dinner, by Thomas R. Smith. This poem was first published in M.E.N. Magazine.
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