Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Deadbeat, No Account, Selfish Mess of a Soul-Starved Man--By Douglas S. Malan--United States

Deadbeat, No Account, Selfish Mess of a Soul-Starved Man
To my wife, who is infinitely stronger than I

Your Father’s Day card extols my virtues,
the boys celebrate me with sweet drawings.
Yet, I see myself…
waiting anxiously in the hospital room with you
our first-born on his way,
both of us wracked by late-afternoon hunger.
I ordered a large cheese pizza,
carried that smoldering, saucy pie to your room,
deeply inhaled the hot cardboard
riding the antiseptic elevator.   
The nurse arrived…
“You can’t eat anything until your son is born.”
ETA – unknown.
Paused in that moment to decide
if I would sacrifice with you,
then hid around the corner
and ate the pizza myself,
justifying it internally,
saying there was no refrigerator…
my inauspicious debut as a dad. 

Postlude: My beautiful wife has forgiven me.

Douglas S. Malan is a blessed family man, writer, and artist living in New England.

20 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Peggy, thank you for commenting. I enjoy the different interpretations of this: "Nice" = enjoyable poem, "Nice" = way to go knucklehead, etc.

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  2. Douglas,
    This great! I love it! I am not sure if you re new to Whispers or not, but you are new to me, so welcome anyway
    Your new friend,
    David Fox!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, David. It's my pleasure to be part of Whispers. See you around.

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  3. Dear Douglas,
    No many of us (namely me) possess your honesty.
    This is refreshing and unique.
    Thank you,
    MIchael

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  4. What a refreshingly honest confession of a dad, poetically expressed! Enjoyed reading and visualising you gobbling up the pizza in some hidden corner! :)

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  5. next time, get sausage and pepperoni, also. . .

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    1. Indeed, Ayaz! But if I find myself in a delivery room again, I'll have much bigger concerns than pizza toppings.

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  6. Had the initiative, with my first born, to smuggle in a bag of fruit and nuts! One of us had to stay strong, in the support role! Great poem content, much enjoyed. O yes, (don't worry) fruit and nut indulgence, is equal to an unfaithfullness, in some peoples eyes. Ralph :-)

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    1. Really appreciate that, Ralph. Thank you. And hats off to you and your foresight. I was ill-prepared for the moment.

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  7. So proud of you! I love this, you can't waste a pie! Your no end of talent amazes me and I am jealous, always have been.

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    1. Thank you, Holly! No pie shall go uneaten. Jealously is unwarranted. You have your own special gifts to share.

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  8. Dear Douglas,

    Wow! You are making quite the splash with your Whispers debut. Welcome! I hope you enjoy your time spent with us. Best wishes with all your writing endeavors.

    Blessings,
    Karen

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    Replies
    1. Karen, thank you so much for the opportunities! I'm thrilled to have found this community.

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  9. Douglass,

    Welcome to Whispers. I enjoyed your poem. Thank you for sharing and continued blessings!

    -MJ (www.tgbtgpublictions.com)

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  10. Dear Dear Douglas"Deadbeat, No Account, Selfish Mess of a Soul-Starved Man" What a title, with the words to satisfy it.
    I enjoyed reading this all the way through. very good.
    Yancy





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