Entering the Kingdom
- richmcgnd
- Apr 29
- 1 min read
Mary Karr
(1965 - )
This poem is about a mother and a growing son. I'm a dad and I think I would need help from a mom of a growing son to appreciate some of the ideas and experiences referenced in the poem.
For example,
"she failed to see herself in him"
"the innate loneliness of men"
"What could she teach him of loss, who now inflicted it by entering the kingdom of his own will"
Entering the Kingdom
As the boy's bones lengthened,
and his head and heart enlarged,
his mother one day failed
to see herself in him.
He was a man then, radiating
the innate loneliness of men.
His expression was ever after
beyond her. When near sleep
his features eased towards childhood,
it was brief.
She could only squeeze
his broad shoulder. What could
she teach him
of loss, who now inflicted it
by entering the kingdom
of his own will?
Mary Karr is an award-winning poet and best-selling memoirist. She is the author of the critically-acclaimed and New York Times best-selling memoirs The Liars' Club, Cherry, and Lit, as well as the Art of Memoir, and five poetry collections, most recently Tropic of Squalor.
Comments