so like her black cat
always calling for her needs
hoping we’ll listen
spirit week beckons
dynamic duos, western.
even better: grins.
even behind masks
you can see my girls’ smiles
(it’s hope. returning.)
and the Finger Lakes
connecting the three of us
in this Denver school
let’s not forget hats
of the Colorado kind
western girls, my girls
Toy Story 3. Now.
i could carry the bag out
and cry all morning
a toy, a trigger?
my girl is off to college.
(this is no cartoon).
and so he will stay.
though i know she will leave me.
each grinning their truth.
'welcome to our house'
they even opened their car
to the teens’ delight
if they could see them
maybe they could listen; help them
maybe they’d be safe
this is how it starts:
with a circle and some words
and a little hope
yoga, gardening:
life skills and English practice
midsummer dream
eighteen years finished
with this mask that hides us all
from society
three-thirty a.m.
my oldest’s footsteps. good steps.
intentional steps.
this is not a moon.
this is a lunar eclipse.
(Super-Flower-Blood)
and she’ll be gone soon.
(no early-morning steps).
and i. am. eclipsed.
shadows of loss win
the afternoon shines bright.
(we still have our moon)
graduation day
bleeds into normal doldrums
(life's quick, painful truths)
graduating girl
ready to face the world
one ray at a time
my sunflower girl,
her modernist self-portrait
so true to her soul
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