Vuong, "Telemachus"

Like any good son, I pull my father out
of the water, drag him by his hair

 

through white sand, his knuckles carving a trail
the waves rush in to erase. Because the city

 

beyond the shore is no longer
where we left it. Because the bombed

 

cathedral is now a cathedral
of trees. I kneel beside him to see how far

 

I might sink. Do you know who I am,
Ba? But the answer never comes. The answer

 

is the bullet hole in his back, brimming
with seawater. He is so still I think

 

he could be anyone's father, found
the way a green bottle might appear

 

at a boy's feet containing a year
he has never touched. I touch

 

his ears. No use. I turn him
over. To face it. The cathedral

 

in his sea-black eyes. The face
not mine—but one I will wear

 

to kiss all my lovers good-night:
the way I seal my father's lips

 

with my own & begin
the faithful work of drowning.

 

 

Ocean Vuong