Jackie Bartley

from First Lines by my Father

Never let the sun go down on your anger,

he told me once before bed.
He said he'd been afraid of his father
and didn't want us to be like that.

He told me once not to talk,
but to listen and watch while others talked,
didn't want me to be like people he knew
who talked to cover up what they didn't know,

who talked and didn't listen or watch
because, maybe, they were afraid
of what they didn't know.
Sometimes he told a joke,

and I'd listen close because I was afraid
I'd miss the punch line by laughing or talked too soon.
It made me happy to see him smile, enjoy the joke he told.
I studied his timing,

but he didn't talk or laugh enough for me
to fall into his rhythm. Still, I didn't want to be like him,
afraid of my own father, so I studied his timing and
never let the sun go down on my anger.