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Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Poem-A-Day: A Fairy Tale by Jennifer L. Knox

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A Fairy Tale
by Jennifer L. Knox

When my father was nine years old, his mother said, "Tommy, I'm taking you to the circus for your birthday. Just you and me, and I'll buy you anything you want." The middle child of six, my father thought this was the most incredible, wonderful thing that had ever happened to him--like something out of a fairy tale.

 

They got in the car, but instead of driving him to the circus, his mother pulled up in front of the hospital and told him to go inside and ask for Dr. So-and-so. After that they'd go to the circus.

 

He went inside and asked for Dr. So-and-so. A nurse told him to follow her into a room where she closed the door and gave him a shot. My father fell asleep, and some hours later, woke up crying in agony with his tonsils gone. A different nurse got him dressed, and sent him outside where his mother was waiting in the car with the engine running. He couldn't speak on the way home to ask her, "What about the circus?" Days later, when he could, he didn't. They never mentioned it again.

 

Fifty-eight years later, he tells this story to his wife, his only explanation, when she asks him, "What are you doing home from church so early?"

 

He'd walked out in the middle of "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," never to return.

 
Copyright © 2012 by Jennifer L. Knox. Used with permission of the author.

Poetry by Knox

The Mystery of the Hidden Driveway

November 20, 2012

Jennifer L. Knox was born in Lancaster, California and is the author of three books of poetry, including The Mystery of the Hidden Driveway (Bloof, 2010).

Related Poems
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Poem-A-Day started as a National Poetry Month program in 2006, delivering daily poems from newly-published poetry titles.

 

Due to popular demand, Poem-A-Day became a year-round program in 2010, featuring original, never-before-published poems by contemporary poets on weekdays, and classic poems on weekends.

 

Browse the Poem-A-Day archive for selections since 2010. 


Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem In Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.  
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