Grateful Girls

a small chance to win
with what small time we have left
these teenaged smiles

Stardust

she's eighteen too soon
my oldest baby, my star
i hope she'll go far

an exhausting day
with my spirit-week “jersey”
and this fake smile

hidden by these masks
that have broken our world
like a rootless orchid

but this cat. this cat.
a soft purrfection presence 
worth a real grin.

my baby skiing 
breaking my heart in these trees
(not such a baby)

she skis black diamonds
from the top of the mountain 
to her mama’s soul

i'll write a haiku
as easy as this damn day
filled with lines. and love.

you will never know
how hard i've tried to earn this.
you can taste the snow.

you can taste blue sky.
it comes in moments, this love.
moments found on slopes.

powder power pulls
relentlessly through the snow
bringing us to light

not what i had planned
(before we were so broken)
yet bright, all the same

our symbolic cat
sitting by his empty plate
waiting for his love

always the baker
coming up with concoctions 
to sweeten our lives

just a year ago
i taught my boy how to ski.
(he learned in one day)

snow arrived today.
soft, slippery, it snuck in
and brought back this piece:

in the purple night
on our perfect patio
completion beckons.