If you haven't read the book, do it soon. I'm rereading it, and I'm quite fond of this book. Definitely on my top ten list, anyway. So, this is a poem from the book that I thought worth sharing. It's a really important part of the book and you'll understand more if you read the book, but it's awesome even by itself. I hope you enjoy it, anyway.

 

Once on a yellow piece of paper with green lines

 

he wrote a poem

 

And he called it "Chops"

 

because that was the name of his dog

 

And that's what it was all about

 

And his teacher gave him an A

 

and a gold star

 

And his mother hung it on the kitchen door

 

and read it to his aunts

 

That was the year that Father Tracy

 

took all the kids to the zoo

 

And he let them sing on the bus

 

And his little sister was born

 

with tiny toenails and no hair

 

And his mother and father kissed a lot

 

And the girl around the corner sent him a

 

valentine signed with a row of X's

 

and he had to ask his father what the X's meant

 

And his father always tucked him in bed at night

 

And was always there to do it

 

 

Once on a piece of white paper with blue lines

 

he wrote a poem

 

And he called it "Autumn"

 

because that was the name of the season

 

And that's what it was all about

 

and asked him to write more clearly

 

And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door

 

because of its new paint

 

And the kids told him

 

that Father Tracy smoked cigars

 

And left butts on the pews

 

And sometimes they would burn holes

 

That was the year his sister got glasses

 

with thick lenses and black frames

 

And the girl around the corner laughed

 

when he asked her to go see Santa Claus

 

And the kids told him why

 

his mother and father kissed a lot

 

And his father never tucked him in bed at night

 

And his father got mad

 

when he cried for him to do it.

 

 

Once on a paper torn from his notebook

 

he wrote a poem

 

And he called it "Innocence: A Question"

 

because that was the question about his girl

 

And that's what it was all about

 

And his professor gave him an A

 

and a strange steady look

 

And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door

 

because he never showed her

 

That was the year that Father Tracy died

 

And he forgot how the end

 

of the Apostle's Creed went

 

And he caught his sister making out on the back porch

 

And his mother and father never kissed

 

or even talked

 

And the girl around the corner

 

wore too much makeup

 

That made him cough when he kissed her

 

but he kissed her anyway

 

because that was the thing to do

 

And at three A.M. he tucked himself into bed

 

his father snoring loudly

 

That's why on the back of a brown paper bag

 

he tried another poem

 

And he called it "Absolutely Nothing"

 

Because that's what it was really all about

 

And he gave himself an A

 

and a slash on each damned wrist

 

And he hung it on the bathroom door

 

because this time he didn't think

 

he could reach the kitchen.