The Institute For The Advanced Study Of Father

My mother founded it
My sister and I were
Dutifully enrolled
Though I was many times
Expelled
And my brothers
Refused to attend

We became scholars
Of what we couldn’t understand
We knew the eyes
Blue as a sky filled with terrible birds
We knew rage
That had no origins
And we knew the knockdown
Bully-wit
We knew a fearless warrior
We knew a Romeo legend
We knew surprises too
We grew accustomed to enigmas

We knew an infinite silence
That grew small trees
In Japanese gardens
That only spoke
In the language of dogs

In my freshman years
I learned not to ask questions
On fishing trips

We knew very little about
The Psychology Department
At the Institute For The Advanced Study Of Father

Lately there have been some
New developments
New theories have developed
Progress
Science marches on

Mother is gone now
There’s a new dean
She seems to be a fine dean
For the university

And what has long been suspected
Has been recently proven
The dogs knew it all along
In every warrior
A little boy is afraid
In every warrior
A little boy cries

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

The poem is very good . I like the way you led with good description to the perfect and true ending.
"A little boy is afraid
In every warrior
A little boy cries"
The strongest men have the biggest hearts. Thank you for sharing the excellent poetry.
Coyote

[Celestial Witch Child]

Wow. Really, all I have to say is just... wow. Perfect imagery. A perfect story. Love it. Keep it up with these amazing pieces! (:

[Mary C]

A great write ! I enjoyed every bit of it !

[jonah]

painfully wonderful! what a beautiful work this is. The flow is nicely written, the words are fantastic in a meaningful nature, the emotion is brought out naturally without hesitation. you crafted it very well. Wonderful job!

[Ashira Macy]

This was gorgeously profound, a beautiful piece. Parents can be such a mystery, sometimes even to their significant other. I love how you made it a college, such a wonderfully well constructed metaphor!

[Tai Ryens]

Thought-provoking piece using such a brilliant and unique metaphor to describe how the family strived to learn of the father's doings, only to fail bitterly and watch as the "institute" falls apart and its creator abandoning it wholly in fear of what truly is able to be found about the father . . . I like how you work this, though. The mother is the founder and obviously knows much more than the children do about the state of their deteriorating marriage, and the children, students, are striving to learn as much as they can about the subject at hand. Well done.

[Wandering Minstrel]

Wow.. just wow.. this one blew me away

[Susan Beth Horvath]

What a wonderful piece. Very thought provoking

[John Anderson]

Wonderful piece, strong in presence, excellent delivery

[Lyn Anderson]

This is amazing. So well done. In the faves.