Literary Mama : Poetry : Mother and Son at Hockey Practice

Thursday, May 24, 2012

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Mother and Son at Hockey Practice

Jennifer Saunders' work has appeared online in BluePrintReview, Literary Bohemian, Shot Glass Journal, and elsewhere and is forthcoming in Blast Furnace, Ibbetson Street Magazine, and the anthology Classifieds: An Anthology of Prose Poems. She lives in Switzerland with her Swiss husband and their two hockey-playing Swiss-American boys. When she's not writing poems or playing hockey in the driveway, she blogs at Magpie Days .

More from Jennifer Saunders

Poetry Archives

Mother and Son at Hockey Practice

By Jennifer Saunders

August 7, 2011

for Alex

I love you best when you are falling
behind the other boys but never
stopping. You are not good

at this thing that you love,
something you sense but pretend not to know.
At six you have learned already

the bluster of talking bigger than you are,
and I conspire with you. The world will tell you
soon enough when you fall short.

I will tell you that you are fast,
will give you a drink from your water bottle
and send you back out to circle the rink

more slowly than the other boys
your blades carving deep grooves,
leaving your careful mark.

Bookmarking this one for a poetry class I'm teaching later this week.

Posted by Bryn on Aug 9, 2011

Loved this! All 3 of mine play hockey and you allowed me to briefly revisit the innocent early years!

Posted by aig63 on Aug 9, 2011

This brought tears to my eyes. What a beautiful moment in time.

Posted by Tracy on Aug 10, 2011

Thank you for your kind comments. I am glad you enjoyed the poem!

Posted by Jennifer on Aug 11, 2011

This is a well crafted poem. My favorite lines...the bluster of talking....

Posted by Jennifer O'Neill Pickering on Aug 28, 2011

Jennifer!! This poem is so beautiful. This is exactly how I feel about my oldest son...I can't tell you how much this stirred up feelings. How are you? Reading this poem reminds me how lucky I was to be in class with you. super hugs!!

Posted by Amber Momoh on Sep 13, 2011

You couldn't be more right on..

Posted by Dripable on Oct 27, 2011

I agree completely..

Posted by kortingscodes on Nov 6, 2011

I fully agree completely!!

Posted by bandar bola on Dec 19, 2011