Cody Walker
Summer 2025 | Poetry
It’s Springtime, and Dads Are Dying
They’re crumpling in parking lots,
they’re dispersing in crematoria,
they’re imbibing drug cocktails
(see: Death with Dignity; see: my stepdad),
they’re saying, Coach, sub me out,
they’re saying, Somebody, cover my shift,
they’re done with summer, and fall,
it’s springtime, and all the dads are dying
Cody Walker grew up in Baltimore and now lives in Ann Arbor. He’s the author of three poetry collections, including The Self-Styled No-Child (Waywiser, 2016). His work appears in The New York Times Magazine, The Hopkins Review, and The Best American Poetry. He directs the Bear River Writers’ Conference in Northern Michigan.