april 11 {the poem project}

11.
WHAT THEY SHOULD HAVE
Girls: a screwdriver;
a favorite book; and a least
one pair of superhero underpants.
Also a teacup.

Boys: dirt
and more dirt in a pot;
catching lessons; a mouth
full of peppermint;
a kept promise.

Mothers: a lap;
three reasons why;
scissors.

Astronauts: love
for zippered things; a slide rule;
teeth; a home address.

Irishmen: God in the ocean
and a Burbury scarf;
peat bogs crowded with gold.

Catholics: a little Latin;
a diving board; Athena
and knees; darkness.

Writers: a box
of something illegal; a windowsill;
Insomnia; fire in the back
of the throat.
Mary Fontana

I like list poems and write many of them myself. Some people think of them as lazy poems. On my first year on Scribendi, the Arts and Literary Magazine, we picked this poem for our issue. I still like it just as much now as I did then.