Book Description
Inspired by a puzzling series of dreams about a favorite comic book hero from his boyhood, the
author embarks upon an arduous but ultimately healing odyssey into a dark and damaged internal landscape, the wreckage of a childhood spent with an angry, abusive, distant father. As he beginsto understand these dreams, and allows them to lead him forward, he also begins to accept hisunique personal history, understand its consequences in his adult life, and take responsibility for his own healing.
A Message from the Author
I never intended to write this book, or any book for that matter. And I certainly didn't set out
initially to share something this raw and personal with the rest of the world. But as these poems
emerged and took shape, it became clear to me that there was a powerful transpersonal process at work that was bigger than me and my own life.
In that context, the creation of this book took on something of a sacred quality for me. I came to realize that, by opening a window into some of the deepest, most intimate places in myself and my process, I might also help other men see themselves more clearly and take action to address issues in their own lives. I hope that both men and women alike can find some truly personal value in this work.
I would also like to acknowledge the work of artist John Dolley, who did such an incredible job
of bringing so many of the themes and images in the book to life with his haunting, beautifully
rendered illustrations.
Availability
To obtain your copy of Iron Man Family Outing, please contact the author, Rick Belden, via
email at sabazuma@yahoo.com.
body memory
my elbow remembers
riding my rocking horse off the front porch
my skin remembers
slap of the flyswatter metal wire handle
my tongue remembers
bar of soap shoved in my mouth
my hand remembers
spilled milk on the first day of first grade
my stomach remembers
crying in front of everyone 'cause I lost the fight
my knee remembers
wait for me daddy before I fell + broke my leg
my feet remember
please teach ricky how to skip
pinned to my kindergarten shirt
my chin remembers
falling out of bed into a
daddy's mad again hot sunday night
my nose remembers
can't breathe comic books in ragweed darkness
my fingers remember
building model rockets in a cool summer basement
my neck remembers
father's hands closing tight around my throat
my ears remember
mother screaming stop it dick stop it.
time passes but nothing is lost
I can't fool myself
my body remembers everything.
Excerpted from Iron Man Family Outing: Poems about Transition into a More Conscious
Manhood by Rick Belden. Cover art and book excerpts copyright © 1990 by Rick Belden, all
rights reserved.
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