Words for Worry
By Li-Young Lee
Another word for father is worry.
Worry boils the water
for tea in the middle of the night.
Worry trimmed the child's nails before
singing him to sleep.
Another word for son is delight,
another word, hidden.
And another is One-Who-Goes-Away.
Yet another, One-Who-Returns.
So many words for son:
He-Dreams-for-All-Our-Sakes.
His-Play-Vouchsafes-Our-Winter-Share.
His-Dispersal-Wins-the-Birds.
But only one word for father.
And sometimes a man is both.
Which is to say sometimes a man
manifests mysteries beyond
his own understanding.
Copyright Credit: Li-Young Lee, "Words for Worry" from Book of My Nights. Copyright © 2001 by Li-Young Lee. Reprinted by permission of BOA Editions, Ltd., www.boaeditions.org.
Source: Book of My Nights (BOA Editions, Ltd., 2001)