How to Potty Train Boys

First and foremost,

do it at night and outside,

a backyard is best,

don’t fuss around with

miniature toilet seats

or aiming for cheerios,

introduce him to the night

where we’re free to take

the form we’ve always wanted.

Where apple blossoms shoulder

up to sycamores and with help

from shadows and tiptoes

can almost see eye to eye,

fireflies, holding their green

breath so long they nearly burst,

do their best to imitate the stars,

and he, pouring rainbow

curves over the easy grass,

realizes you’re not that

much taller.

If you’ve timed things

right, it’s fall and the tiny

lakes you fill rise up

like silver smoke or ghosts,

this will lead you into

a discussion on tradition.

Keep it brief, leave the talking

to crickets and the locusts

who can’t let go.

The moon, a pure white blaze,

will shower you with something

majestic: be prepared for this.

And later, when an old

midnight whisper pulls him

out of bed, bones snapping inside

legs the stuff of corn dust, and on

the slow trail of a willow leaf

or the crown of a ginger-smell breeze

you hear his sigh churn

through the darkness like a prayer,

you know you’ve done the job.                                                       printable