Judith Askew’s most recent poem to appear here was “Talk About the Weather” (April 2018). 

Generational Inattention
By Judith Askew

Why didn’t I ask you
if I had brought happiness
to you;
if you were glad you gave me
life?

Was I a little star shine
at night when you couldn’t sleep,

or a puzzle to put together
when you sat in a traffic jam?

When you thought about me
was it to make an impression on me,
to teach me something?

Did you feel joy
or only the stress of me?

I’m sorry I disappointed you.
No grandchildren.

II.

When I was in college
and full of promise,
happy myself, or so I seemed,

coming and going
and you tried to understand
how different my life
was from yours at my age,
you probably worried
about my relationships,
which you didn’t understand

and you wanted me to marry
but you didn’t ask or tell
or mention

this subject between us
as large as a wide field
blanketed in snow.