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Family Portrait
For Ben Gersch

Seated, his hand relying on his boot top,
Your father, sole presented.
His weighty leather jacket unzipped
To free wrists unafraid of work.
The pharaoh at home, within his sphere-
Solid furniture, reliable carpet.
On a table, the salt and pepper
Vaudeville of marriage.

His eyes between window and mirror,
His leather gaze zipped shut,
He appraises his orbit – an awning,
The panes across the street - Finding flaws
As fathers and pharaohs do, he forgives,
Filled with the swift brush of his son’s face.

Poem by:
Chris Lonnegan