Their voices
All shrank with worry
At the helpless plunge
Of their pitiful son

To pry away
His timid words
Burrowed
In the shadows of his mind

How they all
Descended to fret
Stooped to his sorrow
To reap
His hidden cries of peril

From roaring overtures
They eagerly trudged
Offloading
Their burdens of regret

From full glasses
Their vigor drained away
For the foul gutters
He’s hastily
Christened, hearth and home