Tracing the expanding definition of fatherhood by Patrick Wilcox
Headline from National Public Radio // 14 June 2019
My son’s needy palm passes
through a blade
of sunlight. One day
my son will hold it.
He will use it
against me.
Patrick Wilcox is from Independence, Missouri, a large suburb just outside Kansas City best known for the Oregon Trail, Harry S. Truman, and in more recent decades, production of methamphetamine. He studied English and Creative writing at the University of Central Missouri. He is a three-time recipient of the David Baker Award for Poetry and 2020 honorable mention of Ninth Letter’s Literary Award in Poetry. His work has appeared in Maudlin House, Knockout, Quarter After Eight, Bangalore, and MacGuffin. He currently teaches English Language Arts at William Chrisman High School.