Father & Son

They took him to beyond Davidstown,
Stopped the car on a side road until
There was no sign of anyone. And then,
To get his chords working again,
He was to shout at the top of his voice.
The more he tried to do it, though,
The more it came out as pain, a soft howl.

The other one lost his control of speech
In the same season. Hard consonants
Defeated him. It was as if a door
Was locked and he was in a room
Banging, but unable to call out, and from
The other side a sound came, faint at first,
Then familiar, almost clear: pain, a soft howl.