To my children

By Adam Gibson

do you have dark hair
or do you have light?
is it long and straight
or is it curly and wild?
have you my greenish eyes
that look greener in sunlight
or when hungover on afternoons
after a late night?
what have i named you?
have i won my battle for "Amber"
or my inexorable drive for "Jerry"?
has Blanche triumphed or Robert won out?
do you have skinny legs like me
and are you sitting in your future world
and saying "yes!" right now?
do you wonder what i was like
at the age of 38
on this winter night on which i write?
are you imagining the night outside
and the world in which i live now,
before the certain disasters and catastrophes
that will definitely occur have happened?
before that bombing or before the collapse
of something else we hold dear?
my children, always venture and never be still,
always question and stay forever bright-eyed.
it is the least you can do for me,
your dear old dad who is 38
and hasn't had you yet.