Robert L Penick

Page

There is a young father
reading to his young son
in the Bon Air Library
and he knows he is giving
the child the tools to
eventually leave him
behind, to put him in
the rear view mirror,
absent save long-distance
phone calls and awkward
packages at Christmas. 

The boy will follow
his own current
to his own corner
of the world, and
the man will watch
the horizon for the rest
of his life.

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The poetry and prose of Robert L Penick have appeared in well over 200 different literary journals, including The Hudson Review, North American Review, Plainsongs and Oxford Magazine. The Art of Mercy: New and Selected Poems is now available from Hohm Press. More of his work can be found at theartofmercy.net.