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.
Reach for It
mother
Steamboat: Gains and Losses
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.
(Re)solution
ironic notice
as the words come flooding in
(yet i can’t stop them)
no. i had no plan.
no plan for any of this.
(nor a solution).
Christmas Cookies
he’s no idea
what he’s got himself into
with these crazy girls
cookies are cookies.
we will cut, bake, decorate.
’cause it’s what we do.
arms, metal, ginger:
what is a holiday scent?
molasses. that’s it.
and soft-spun sugar
ready to perfect Christmas
with gingerbread sweets.
Recipe for Loss
motherhood snippets:
a brilliant purple houseplant
captured in glory
molé for the win?
another failed recipe
to exhaust my soul
oh, but the chocolate
hidden behind the bright beads
of sesame seeds
her anxiety
so present, prescient, painful
and i cannot win
Quarantine Scenario #437
hidden behind mask
is my sixteen-year-old girl
(her pandemic grin)
i hope to win her
with walks, drives, conversations
just like the old days
Heartbreak #109 for Year 2020
arriving today:
my kids who text me daily
my kids, yes, my kids
did she read my words?
did she see what i just wrote?
alas, i’m tired
i want to see them
just as he does, biking there
in the midst of lunch
seeing their faces,
having a conversation
without this damn screen
National Daughters’ Day
they are my world
even if they hate me now
(these teen years will pass)
August Coronatine Accomplishments
oldest in college
(concurrent enrollment win)
(can remove spiders)
youngest wants hair cut
just in time for her birthday
my new career–ha!)
Road Trip 2020 (Swim Me a Snake)
the river’s icy
the current is too strong, son
but no one stops us
i can never look
without wanting to dive in
to fully swim. live.
they get this from me.
these kids who are not my kids.
these kids who are mine.
we swim for ice cream.
for these fleeting memories.
for their childhoods.
