On boys whose eyes smile as they taste unfamiliar stone with their fingers…

I was meant to give them this.

Josiah, Black teenager, smiling big and wearing sunglasses, black coat, and red beanie hat. He is looking towards camera with a face mask beneath his chin. He is seated in a sky box with the Chicago city skyline behind him.

This newsletter is part of the benefits of being a paid subscriber. If you are viewing this with a free 7 day preview, and you like what you are reading, please consider honoring the postings here with an upgrade to paid. It is $5/month or $60/year. If not, you can still access what I feel to be great content for free on a weekly basis.

on boys whose eyes smile 
as they taste unfamiliar stone 
with their fingers…

the first time my boys touched rock 
from places they did not know 
brought forth giggles from places I did not know existed within them
sounds I did not know belonged to them 
sweetest music these ears had ever known
they ran through fields that looked nothing like the ones back home
licking the wind as it crashed into their faces
“we don’t have air like this," I say
everything about this place is unfamiliar
unknown
feelings I cannot name
thoughts I cannot untangle
but that is because I took my eyes off my boys 
when I watch them, I know 
it all makes sense 
they were meant to experience this
and I was meant to give them this