“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child:
but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”
1 Corinthians 13:11, The King James Bible

When I was a boy, I stuttered. It took a while,
but with each new wrinkle and extra mile away
from home, my voice finally began to smooth out.
And though I’m fine now, every now and then
it comes back, often when I’m nervous.

When I was a boy, chairs always made me uneasy
because they had the power to fly across the leaving room.
That’s probably why I’ve always had a fondness
for those big old armchairs with a headrest
and leather upholstery, like the one in grandpa’s study.

When I was a boy, twice a week after school,
my parents would send me to religious classes
in the new catechetical house, the pride of the town.
Only there did I dream of being the Antichrist,
so I had the power to turn wine into water.