Phil Goldstein’s poems in “How to Bury a Boy at Sea” tell the story of a frightened young boy dominated by an older brother who sexually abuses him. Through imagery and honesty Goldstein shares the terror of not knowing if and when he would be attacked. He draws parallels between the adult actor unbuttoning a shirt on a theatre stage with the unwilling unbuttoning of his childhood. The power of telling this story with short poetry rather than long prose intensifies every emotion. The twists of trusting and doubting, loving and hating, innocent games and sick sexual acts with a family member are detestable turns in a childhood that is ripped to shreds and under duress, are hidden from the parents who should be protecting their younger son. It is that much more infuriating and disappointing to know that when Goldstein comes out with the truth as an adult, his father is ashamed—not because of the abuse that took place—but because of the author’s courageous disclosures of the torture he was forced to endure. And that makes Goldstein’s story all the more courageous.