Family Reunion

By Catherine Barnett Catherine Barnett

My father scolded us all for refusing his liquor.

He kept buying tequila, and steak for the grill,

until finally we joined him, making margaritas,

cutting the fat off the bone.

When he saw how we drank, my sister

shredding the black labels into her glass

while his remaining grandchildren

dragged their thin bunk bed mattresses

first out to the lawn to play

then farther up the field to sleep next to her,

I think it was then he changed,

something in him died. He's gentler now,

quiet, losing weight though every night

he eats the same ice cream he always ate

only now he's not drinking,

he doesn't fall asleep with the spoon in his hand,

he waits for my mother to come lie down with him.

Source: Into Perfect Spheres Such Holes Are Pierced (Alice James Books, 2004)

Poetic Terms Free Verse

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