The Friday Poem: ‘Grief Limericks’ by Harry Ricketts

New verse by Wellington writer Harry Ricketts.

Grief Limericks

i

I once had a stepson called Max.

As a child, he could rarely relax.

The other kids kicked him;

he was a natural victim.

I once had a stepson called Max.

ii

I once had a stepson called Max,

liked Gunn and Blood on the Tracks.

But things were askew,

were tangled in blue.

I once had a stepson called Max.

iii

I once had a stepson called Max

with needs as tender as wax.

When I left his mother,

he saw me as other.

I once had a stepson called Max.

iv

I once had a stepson called Max

whose memories turned into tacks.

Love inside out

helps hatred to sprout.

I once had a stepson called Max.

v

I once had a stepson called Max

with a head full of cricketing facts,

who one winter’s day

I once had a stepson called Max.

From Winter Eyes by Harry Ricketts (Victoria University Press, $25), available from Unity Books.