Fear Day

Fear Day
- Martha Rhodes

His almost mother
And his (this) father
Ensnarled think,

Fear. Fear on this fabulous day!
Fear is what they want this day to be about.
Yes, Fear's on their written plan

For this day out, circling
Their picnic, grabbing the son
(And son's friend) by the afternoon

To dump them headfirst into the red Mazda trunk.
Just for a minute dearies, (the almost mother says),
We'll let you out soon.

Glorious day for Fear, the two adults neck,
Thinking about having another kid or two or three--
Little barbed bald kids--

To take on Sundays to the park!
After all, your son isn't mine, she says.
And her breasts extend toward him

Like two he doesn't know whats
But they're friendly and bobbing in his face
And he's going to do something with them.

He just doesn't know how/when.

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I love this poem so much. I've been thinking about it since I first read it in 2003, although I always thought Carol Muske-Dukes wrote it. Turns out they were in the same issue of APR, which I found I had saved all these years.
The way this poem lays out, I am disturbed in an honest way. I feel a reality underlying this. This is one of those poems that changed the way I see poetry.