Magdalene (12)

Eric, her first child,
Was tall
Like the pine tree
In their back yard.

He reached for the sun,
But settled for a half-lit moon
Behind scattered clouds.

In his twenties,
Eric wandered into many
New England towns
Which quietly took him in
As just another farm hand
With no plans.

After four beers,
Eric recounted two memories:
His bedroom full of
Unopened Christman gifts.
“Never like surprises,” he said.

And another dust-ridden story
About reading War and Peace
In his Ford pickup,
After playing miniature golf,
When he was nineteen.