Dennis Etzel, Jr.
—
That Mistake
An error is a wandering from truth, primarily in impression, judgment, or calculation and, by extension of the idea, in conduct; it may be a state. A mistake is a false judgment or choice; it does not, as error sometimes does, imply moral obliquity, the defect being placed wholly in the wisdom of the actor, and in its treatment of this defect the word is altogether gentle. [Century Dictionary, 1897]
I look back at vacation
time in the Rockies that small town
candy store Asmund fought
himself his brain and body
to go inside with me his Daddy
so when the cashier corrected
tried to teach him a lesson
by saying look at me
in the eyes when I am talking
I was embarrassed for him
the lesson I should have taught her
his huge step to come in
to make a purchase as a child
with his money clutched in hand
maneuvering through this clutter
of life as he lives a spectrum
of silences it was my silence
she was in error it was my mistake
it was my lesson to not make
that mistake as long as I can speak
Dennis Etzel Jr. lives in Topeka, Kansas, where he teaches English at Washburn University. His work has appeared in Denver Quarterly, Indiana Review, Tarpaulin Sky, DIAGRAM and others. His book My Secret Wars of 1984 was a Kansas City Star Best Poetry Book of 2015.
© Bear Review 2025
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Site Design + Build
October Associates
