the bedside book of glass by glen armstrong

We spend a year and a half
           blowing swans.
 
We excuse the odd behavior
          of our offspring:
 
          The tapping.
          The fixating.
          The tapping.
          The caution.
 
We know that their fragile nature
          angers the coach
          and other parents.
 
We know that they distrust all
          that refuses
 
          light passage.
 
In the evening we read them stories
         of pagan girls
 
         whose impractical
         footwear prolongs
         the spell,
 
         and Christian healers
         whose prayers turn
 
         prosthetic eyes
         to flesh.

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Glen Armstrong holds an MFA in English from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and teaches writing at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. He edits a poetry journal called Cruel Garters and has three recent chapbooks: Set List (Bitchin Kitsch,) In Stone and The Most Awkward Silence of All (both Cruel Garters Press.) His work has appeared in Poetry Northwest, Conduit and Cream City Review.