Doubt
The movie triggers the memory –
Father Richard Lavigne inspecting us
while we sat obediently in pews,
touching our fingertips,
praying for that certain boy.
On his deathbed he confessed
to pushing that boy into the river –
fifty years later.
I avoided the river because
I was never one of his special boys.
I remember when my dad
found me in the woods
building a fort with my friends.
I was supposed to be at altar boy practice.
I told him, He wants me to buy a manicure kit.
I wish I could say he
looked very concerned. Truth is,
he gave me the silent treatment all the way home.
When Saturday came around again,
I was ready for practice. Dad said,
You’re not going. No explanation given.
But I’ve never doubted why.
*
Bill Garvey’s poetry has been or will be in Rattle, Cimarron Review, ONE ART, The New Quarterly, New Verse News, Connecticut River Review and several others. His most recent book of poetry, The basement on Biella, was published by DarkWinter Press in Fall 2023. He and his wife live in Toronto and Nova Scotia for equal parts of the year.
