Themes
Wheelbarrow
This is a wheelbarrow I filled with all my dreams & my favorite clothes & now all I need is someone to help me push it.
Well Behaved
They’re like pets who shed clothes instead of hair, she said, & they talk back & want a lot of stuff. But at least they don’t pee on the carpet anymore, she added.
Western Mysticism
It’s much easier, he told me, if you like the parts you like & you like the parts you don’t like. Is that some Eastern thing? I said & he said not really since he was from Idaho & it worked there just fine.
Whales
I remember when the whales had wings, she said. Whatever happened? I said. It got to be too noisy with all the airplanes & other stuff, so they flew into the ocean & never came back. Some days, she added, I think about going too.
Walking Big
walking with loud giant steps while he can because he’s already noticed that when you grow up, even if you do keep walking as big as you can, you have to be quiet about it, or other people get headaches
Walking Softly
walking softly like a spider in the early morning
Watching Ants
I would like to think more about baseball & small engines & the best weedkiller known to man, but I always end up watching the ants on my back porch, thinking we’re not so different after all.
Weight
This only weighs a lot if you’ve forgotten to do the stuff you wanted to do all along.
Weight Training
This is a giant block of whatever is most difficult for you to carry & trust me on this, you’ll carry it more times than you can count until you decide that’s exactly what you want to do most & then it won’t weigh a thing anymore.
Waiting
I don’t mind waiting for a little while, he said, if I get a treat in the end. What do you think is a treat? I said. Not having to wait too long, he said & I had to give him points for honesty.
Waiting for Signs
I used to wait for a sign, she said, before I did anything. Then one night I had a dream & an angel in black tights came to me & said, you can start any time now, & then I asked is this a sign? & the angel started laughing & I woke up. Now, I think the whole world is filled with signs, but if there’s no laughter, I know they’re not for me.
Waiting to Stay
Sometimes I can’t wait to leave, but not when my boys are wishing I could stay
Waiting to be Kissed
Every time I looked at the picture I thought how I should have kissed her, so finally I hid it in the attic & I wonder if it’s still there with us both so young & her waiting to be kissed.
Value of a Nickel
I buried a nickel under the porch when I was 8, she said, but one day my grandma died & they sold the house & I never got to go back for it. A nickel used to mean something, I said. She nodded. It still does, she said & then she started to cry.
Veteran Traveler
carries a lot of suitcases but all of them are empty because she’s expecting to completely fill them with life by the end of this trip
& then she’ll come home
& sort everything out
& do it all again
Vision Change
You see me better than I am, she said & I’m worried what’ll happen when your vision changes
Voice of Reason
Sometimes I think I should just keep my opinions to myself, she said, but someone has got to be the voice of reason.
Value
Life must be cheaper here, she said & I said I don’t think life is cheap anywhere, but there are some places people haven’t added it up yet because they’re too busy making stuff for America.
Underwear Parade
I think we should make all the flags in the parade out of long underwear, he said, because then only the really fun people will come.
Undiscovered Places
map of some places not discovered quite yet because when people get too close it stands up & trots away