They cooked him hotdogs and preheated the oven,
Put knives back in their sheathes
For safekeeping, brother
Who sees through walls now.
Raised by ghosts raised by wolves,
The howling & ribbing unravels
Beyond the farmhouse & forest, the ghosts
Brought snorkels underwater
& helmets in the hayloft.
The wolf parents proudly look on,
& the ghost parents, & the fire crackles
Like a television, see,
No one is ever truly alone.
©
is a musician and poet from Northern California. His work has appeared in New American Writing, The Iowa Review, Handsome, Abjective, Pank, American Songwriter, and elsewhere. After several years as a touring folksinger, he currently teaches songwriting at McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul, MN. News, tour dates, and contact information are available at www.brianlaidlaw.com.
We’ve published two more poems by Laidlaw: “Notes For A Song Called "All It Takes"” and “Courtesy Call.”
