Celebrations
Making Room (masculine)
When I first met him,
I knew in a moment
I would have to spend
the next few days
re-arranging my mind
so there’d be room
for him to stay.
Meeting the Devil
I never met the Devil (yet) but I imagine it’s a pretty scary experience but then again I guess that’s the point.
Magical Thinker (aka Disappearing Act)
Can make stuff
magically disappear
especially if
it’s got a lot
of butter & sugar
in it
Making Room (Feminine)
When I first met her,
I knew in a moment
I would have to spend
the next few days
re-arranging my mind
so there’d be room
for her to stay.
Last Minute
I have to buy all my presents at the last minute, she said, or I get too excited & just give them away.
Just Friends
I saw them standing there pretending to be just friends, when all the time in the world could not pry them apart.
Jello Salad
There are 7 levels of hell, she said, & I think one of them is reserved for people who bring jello salads to every potluck they go to.
Intuition
How do you know? she said & the answers fell like feathers, or the first snowflakes of November, light & without words. I looked in her eyes & smiled. You just know, I said.
Illusion of Control
If you hold on to the handle, she said, it’s easier to maintain the illusion of control. But it’s more fun if you just let the wind carry you.
Hot Dish
It’s not so bad if you don’t think of it as pizza, she said.
Just think of it as another one of Mom’s scary hot dishes.
Hot Comfort
I’m only comfortable when it’s hot, she said & I said what about winter?
& she said I argue a lot so it makes up for it
Hindsight (mother)
I didn’t listen to her because she was my mother
& wouldn’t know anything until I was much older.
Her Laughter
The first time her laughter unfurled its wings in the wind, we knew that the world would never be the same.
Hard to Impress
hard to impress because she’s already seen the sun rise today & it doesn’t get much better than that
Halloween
I heard that the big kids soaped the windows on Halloween & all we had was a box of Tide & I couldn’t reach the windows anyway, so I poured a big pile of it on the neighbor’s doorstep & I never figured out how my mom knew it was me until we had kids.
Great Game
What are the rules? I said & she said, Do exactly what I want whenever I want, make no demands of me whatsoever & love me forever, no questions asked & I said, how do you win? & she said, you don’t understand. I’m the only one who wins & then she laughed & clapped her hands. Isn’t it a great game? she said.
Godzilla
really just wanting to learn a few fun dance steps, but try telling that to all those panic-stricken Japanese
Giving a Damn
My grandfather used to say nobody gives a damn anymore & the thing I remember most about him is the way he never let that stop him from giving a damn all the days of his life.
Funny World
He told me about Jesus & Arizona & the best way to make beer & I said you’re a funny kind of preacher & he said it’s a funny kind of world & I still remember his eyes clear as a desert morning.
Forgotten Promises
she sang like snowflakes on my tongue, bright & sharp with the forgotten promises of spring