a late-start, no-student day
 gave me the gift of mornings
 i’ve lost too many times to count–
 fixing hair, pushing swings, sipping tea,
 taking in the blue reflection
 before the real blue settles on my shoulders
 as i face the reality of tall, heavy doors
 that keep me from being my best
 
 (but i have those smiles
 swinging circles in my soul,
 reminding me of the
 calming beauty of blue)