Aaron

I wrote the poem Aaron after reading  Edwin Arlington Robinson's Richard Cory, when I was a senior in high school. It was selected to be read as part of the Norfolk, Virginia "Turn On" in 1970, and it received a very nice review in the Virginian Pilot/Ledger Star newspaper. I have included it as one of Boojie's poems in my book Boojie's People, which will be released this summer. 

                                                          Aaron

                                          (c) Linda Goodman 1970

Aaron was a cruel man. His mother told me so.

He was quiet, but his ways were rough (This, for fact, I know).

He had a brother, Timmy, who was full of charm and looks.

Tim was his mother’s pride and joy, and was always reading books.

But Aaron was mean and Aaron was crude and he never stopped to think.

He did as he pleased, and he said what he meant, and he drank what he wanted to drink.

And even today, I remember so well the night that his poor mother died.

Her lips formed the words, “I love Timmy,” but Aaron was the one who cried.

And why he did that peculiar thing, I suppose I’ll never know.

Aaron was a cruel man. His mother told me so.