You Tarzan, Me Surprised
By Earl J. Wilcox
 
 

When I was maybe thirteen

my parents began letting me

go to movies alone or with friends.

One Saturday matinee,

the only show I was allowed to see

—after Loony Tunes and before the weekly serial—

I stood up to spot some friends.

In the flickering glimmer of a newsreel

or a Roy Rogers and Dale Evans preview

I saw my father

sitting a few seats in front of me,

still wearing his baseball cap.

Astonished to see Dad at the movie

I never mentioned spotting him that day.

Perhaps he simply wanted to see

Tarzan of the Apes, Episode 13

“His Own Kind.”