to celebrate love:
she’s fifteen on the fifteenth
surrounded by stars
Middle Childhood
to celebrate love:
she’s fifteen on the fifteenth
surrounded by stars
happiness
Mount Bierstadt
first: the moon and sun
second: 8.5 miles
third: a fourteener
fourth: pomapoo strength
fifth: learning to climb mountains
sixth: altitude high
Front Range Burnout
a weekend hiking
is the only proper way
to enjoy summer
Road Trip 2019: Day Six, Gitchi Gami
you haven’t ridden
over the Rockies; not yet.
Superior wins.
with a pup and girls
(unread itinerary)
we biked thirty clicks
Minnesota wins
for elevation record
on these little legs
and to end it all:
waterfall, campfire, cheese.
who would ask for s’more?
Seasonal Adore Disorder
a cloud beneath us–
powder day brings heaven home
as flakes float our love
Electrified Files
outspoken as always
he asks why i smile
she loves watching us work,
his classmate chimes in
(all teachers live for torture)
he has caught me in a moment
(one of many on this first day back)
where my available memory sits
on the forefront of my monitor
(the smile will never be far
from lips that can’t hide happiness)
(i will never tell him
i will tell almost no one)
the images i tuck in electrified files
at the base of my hard drive
ready to upload
a screensaver’s pleasure
at the smiling touch of a keyboard
What They’ll Remember
what they’ll remember
is this fire that
shuts out the frigid winter
with a crackle and zip,
a whip to the wind;
this shuffling of places
on the couch,
bottoms in laps,
blankets bundled in
heaps of warmth;
this mother with arms
wrapping love around them
as they switch places
and fight for their turn;
this father playing monster
from the floor,
his whiskery face
lit up amongst the flames;
this quiet game that
lets all the talks out
and erupts in unsuppressible
jubilant giggles.
what they’ll remember
is nothing else from
this day,
this night,
this part of their lives,
nothing but
love and warmth and happiness.
Silent Guidance
it is not for this view of farms
with old wooden barns
in the early mist of morning
that i rise early and ride
(though it could be)
it is not for the excitement
of a road I’ve never traveled
its twists and turns leading me
into a maze of forests and fields
(though it could be)
it is not for the muscles in
my legs that have tightened
into circular mounds of strength,
carrying me endlessly without pain
(though it could be)
it is for them, three souls lined up
to lead a life that they will choose,
and in my silent guidance they will see
that there are many roads, many paths,
that will lead each of them to happiness.
I Could Have Skipped This
I could have skipped this
but then I would have missed
the sunrise glistening
like a sparkling curtain,
opening today’s show
(carried by wind that
pushes against me, a
wall I will fight now
for the pat on the back
later today)
I could have skipped this
but then I would have missed
the absences she’s had,
the plight of the struggling student
who so demurely
will not ask for help
(but will accept the
help I offer her)
I could have skipped this
but then I would have missed
the smiles on their faces
as they took turns riding
the scooter round and round,
the perfect homemade ice cream
dripping happiness from their chins,
(the memory that I created
with a spontaneous choice)
I could have skipped this
but then I would have missed
the chance to make
a lesson that will enlighten
them, make each of us stronger,
and create the collaboration
that guides them to the
success every student deserves.
I could have skipped this…
but then I would have missed
the life that I have chosen
because I didn’t skip this.
Surety
just like that we are in our thirties
I met you when I was nineteen
hard to imagine now
you just twenty and shy as a bird
but I still fell for your wordless remarks
your looks and emails
and surety
your surety
that I belonged with you
and here we are thirteen years later
on a date
three girls with the grandparents
and we could do anything
anything
and we do
we do
and I love you just as much
now
as those hot nights in the car
years ago
when we were just teenagers really
and you can’t hold back the grin
at the table we share
because I’m all yours
all yours Babes
all
all
all yours
God how I love you still
and always, always.
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