Jan Hansen Poet Blank verse

a family affair

A family affair

A big hotel was built in our rather shy town
the hotel's façade faced the town's lake that
had many birds that visitors thought charming
the hotel needed many casual workers, such 
as cleaning rooms, corridors, and plates, and
cups after guests, we thought was posh and
with a southerly accent, which was regarded 
as more posh than the way we spoke.
for the working-class young, there was not
to offer, between going to sea or working 
at a canning factory, many took to the sea 
but lacked the discipline needed to continue
a lifestyle that is essentially a lonely one 
although for those with the will to seek to
to maritime school, it could be a fine career 
when my father was coming home from 
from the sea for good, he was not a seaman
I was in bed, lung sick as often as a child
they had told me he was coming and thought
he might look heroic, like a Viking
the door opened, and a smallish man entered
he pointed at me and in gest said, whose son
is this and forever planted in me a feeling 
of being inferior with problems this entails
but I digress years later when taking 
the bus into town, I ignored his halloo for 
which I suffered sleepless nights
 I should have been more polite.
My brother was friendly with my dad 
my brother was a forgiven sort of person
they even worked together at the hotel
cleaning dishes

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