(For Peter J. Harris and Romaine Washington)
Room Crowded with Crusty noses
& Pink Eye Curiosity welcomed
Me-
today’s art teacher in my son’s 1st grade class.
Crayon conversations on paper mimicked
Umizoomi sketch smiles
Sponge Bob frowns
Memory moon-walked.
I am a father who is the son of two fathers.
The son of two men who loved my mother.
Biology of one man birthed my voice.
Another man’s scaffolding water colored my hands.
Legacy of both men
mentored
re-appearance of Ellison’s Invisible man
no longer disappearing,
shattering Wright’s Bigger Thomas statistic seeping
circus mirror reflection.
Now- Hero to my son,
his Batman, Superman, Spiderman
& Dad
painting elementary memories for a father-famished generation.