The Boy

I watch the plane approach the gate,
the travelers disembark

weary & bedraggled
readjusting straps, shifting a bag’s weight

one hand to another.
A woman stops, abruptly

turns to her teenage son,
where is your bag?

I watch as the drama unfolds—
the bag left in the overhead compartment

fault angrily volleyed
though it’s clear it was the boy’s responsibility

to remember. It is a loss easily recovered—
the gate agent already on the phone—

but what broke is broken
still—

his mother’s hands
clenched, her voice

a blade,
while the boy

still learning the shape
of his life

quietly averts his eyes.

---

Michelle Matz’s poems have appeared, or are forthcoming, in numerous publications, including Mud Season Review, Atlanta Review, The Lascaux Review, Dodging the Rain, and Atticus Review. Her chapbook was a semifinalist in the Ledge Poetry Contest and was published in 2006. Her book, Acoustic Shadow, was recently published by Main Street Rag. Michelle lives in San Francisco where she is a high school dean.