My Son The Man Poem by Sharon Olds
My Son The Man
Suddenly his shoulders get a lot wider,
the way Houdini would expand his body
while people were putting him in chains. It seems
no time since I would help him to put on his sleeper,
guide his calves into the gold interior,
zip him up and toss him up and
catch his weight. I cannot imagine him
no longer a child, and I know I must get ready,
get over my fear of men now my son
is going to be one. This was not
what I had in mind when he pressed up through me like a
sealed trunk through the ice of the Hudson,
snapped the padlock, unsnaked the chains,
and appeared in my arms. Now he looks at me
the way Houdini studied a box
to learn the way out, then smiled and let himself be manacled.
Extremely beautiful. A son or a daughter never seems to grow old in the eyes of a mother. As such the realisation comes very late and that too with a tinge of surprise. Thanks, Sharon.
I cannot imagine him no longer a child, and I know I must get ready, get over my fear of men now my son is going to be one. life and its surprises. tony
I love how she metaphorically uses the breaking of Hudson River ice to describe childbirth in the heat of the moment.
Children could not help but grow up as men and women one day........the feelings of which expressed so touchingly.......outstanding........thanks for sharing
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/19/2024 3:46:20 AM # 1.0.0.1119
'Get over my fear of men now my son'! ! Thanks for sharing this poem with us.