Friday, June 29, 2012

Perspective in Bloom


Right now is either
The height of the daisies or
Ten months to Tulips

Thursday, June 28, 2012

New Smile

He's got a new smile
One that comes out for the camera
On command
You ask
He gives it
You take the picture
It disappears 


It's great for posterity but
Truth be told
Right now
I'm feeling nostalgic
For his hands over the face
Grunt and squeal reaction


Maybe I'll go now to the old pics and look for it

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Shrugging Under the Weight of Authority


I would assume
That not many arresting officers
Receive that first phone call
Which might be why
Being the father of a three year old seems to me to be
Easier and
More rewarding than being a police officer
Being the father of a thirteen year old may be another matter altogether but
Right now he’s three
So when he tells me how mean I am
As he hugs me and
Dries his tears on my shoulder
It is hard to get too worked up about
The weight of authority

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Empathy


Today
On television
We watched a little turtle
Dig for three days to emerge from her egg underneath the sand
Get stuck in kelp and
Dodge menacing crabs and diving sea birds
Simply to have the pleasure of
Being rocked about by the waves and
Perhaps being thrown back out on the beach
Then
After finding safety in a clump of seaweed
Floating in the Gulf Stream current
Get stranded in the Sargasso Sea and
Run over by a huge container ship
Then
After recovering for more than four years from that
Make her way back to the Gulf Stream Current
So she could be dashed against the rocky coast of Nova Scotia
And
All the while never change her expression
Which might explain why
Upon being told that I wouldn’t be giving him a boat ride today
My three year old son said
“I’m really pissed off”

Monday, June 25, 2012

Mixed Feelings


Arms wrapped around me
Holding on
Head on my shoulder
Sobbing
Talking in a whisper now
Still telling me how mean and rude I am
He’s either standing in bread lines in Moscow or
He’s just returned to his beach front home after a hurricane or a tsunami
Intent on crying
While he stares out over the water and into the hazy spot
Where sky meets water

Thursday, June 14, 2012

It's All The Same


If you see someone you know
You say hello
If someone falls to the ground in front of you
You check to see if they’re alright
If someone says thank you
You say you’re welcome
If someone graduates from college
You say congratulations
If two people tell you they’re getting married
You say
Well
What do
You
Say
?

Monday, June 04, 2012

Empathy and Mos Eiseley


When that bully stole your Han Solo in 1982
Right out of your nine year old hands
He took more than Han Solo
He took the possibility of awkward moments with Luke and Leia
He took away fist bumps with Lando and
Chewbacca
Because it’s not just black guys that do fist bumps but
It is just guys in black vests that pilot the Millennium Falcon and
Run away from Boba Fett and
Slouch in his seat in the Mos Eiseley Cantina and
He can’t do those things outfitted for Hoth
In his winter parka
Not without placing an asterisk on the whole experience
Which I suppose is how she feels
About me being a stay at home father to her grandchildren and
And why she still feels that way after six years
Like Panda Baba watching his arm get cut off
And wondering how he’ll be able to be a smuggler now