The presence of their square bodies
\nlarge and uncommon in our small rooms
\nhalf brothers
\nsame shoulders, jaw, hips,
\nsame lack of height
\nforty years from boyhood
\n400 miles apart<\/p>\n
visiting back
\npassing through our home
\nfor an hour
\npawing through the sepia box
\nof photos
\nthen asking,<\/p>\n
surprisingly,<\/p>\n
for songs
\nand melting
\ninto the couch<\/p>\n
no more need
\nto joke
\nhold up
\nexplain<\/p>\n
anything<\/p>\n
just be doused
\nin their father\u2019s singing
\nand mine
\nvoices and guitars running
\naround the strings<\/p>\n
carry them back
\nto the smell of wooden walls
\nthe timber frame kitchen<\/p>\n
songs soothe \u201cDad, sing your version of Country Roads.\u201d My mind turns to Tygart Valley Middle School I said none of this to my stepsons. The presence of their square bodies large and uncommon in our small rooms half brothers same shoulders, jaw, hips, same lack of height forty years from boyhood 400 miles apart visiting back passing through our home for an hour pawing through the sepia box of photos then asking, surprisingly, for songs and melting into the … Continue reading The Kids Came Home<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[],"issue":[6876],"class_list":["post-2094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry","issue-6876"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-13 08:26:29","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/plum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/plum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/plum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/plum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/plum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/plum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2094\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/plum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/plum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/plum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2094"},{"taxonomy":"issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gcc.mass.edu\/plum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue?post=2094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nthough one of their faces reddens
\nto look at his old man
\nand shiver the truth of Kate Wolf\u2019s lyrics.
\nWe\u2019ve only got these times we\u2019re living in.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nAnd so he does.
\nMy favorite the bridge.
\n\u201cThrough the Detroit streets I can hear her distant calling…<\/em>
\nAnd being here together makes me think we should\u2019ve taken our stand yesterday.<\/em>
\nYesterday.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
\nmusic class
\nThe discussion we led.
\nIs West Virginia just a land for leaving?
\nWhat does it mean, \u201cTake our stand?\u201d
\nI drilled our students to recite this line over and over,
\n\u201cAnd being here together…\u201d<\/em>
\n\u2018til it rolled off the tongue in song.<\/p>\n
\nTried to step aside
\nto allow a direct if fragile line from son to father
\nand back again
\na thick rope of childhood bonds
\nfrayed from lack of care through the decades
\nbut ropey still
\ninvisible as a spider\u2019s web
\nwhich they say is stronger than steel<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"