The Wake-Up Call
by Jimmy Pappas

When it was time
to wake me up
to go fishing,

he stood at the end
of the bed and held
my foot in his hands

as if it were a piece
of crystal, the way
he must have done

when I was a baby,
but I was too tired
to wake up and

too young to understand
how much he needed
me to be his son.

Jimmy Pappas earned his M.A. in literature from Rivier College after serving in Vietnam. He taught high school English, philosophy, literature, and poetry for thirty years until he retired to focus on his own writing. He now lives in Chichester NH where he is in the process of preparing his poems for publishing. He frequently reads his work at area poetry events and leads writing workshops for adults and children.

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