Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Farther Away ... A Feeling

She's feeling further away
Already
I need the zoom lens to find her
More often than not
She'll still jump into the camera but
Now I erase the blurry photos
I can 
Imagine when blurry photos will make it into the album
As artsy
As all there is
So maybe I should 
Keep taking all I can now
While it's just a feeling and
Still farther away




Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Throw away the script

You think there's a script
Really
So someone wrote in
"And now he will begin to lick his lips
Often and
Excessively
Everywhere he goes"
If so
It doesn't seem as
Frustrating or
Cute
And why did he have to pee on me when he first did the other thing on the toilet
When I think that it is all improv
I'm OK with it but
I know I'm not living through a Hollywood blockbuster
An indie or
Even a horrifically bad B-movie and
I guess I've just never been the sitcom type

Monday, August 13, 2012

Quiet Doesn't Clean Up


Underwear on the kitchen floor
A smattering of cheese and corn and cheerios here and there and
Everywhere
Measuring spoons in the car
Rocks tumbling out of the diaper bag
Blankets covering the coffee table and rocking chair
A stuffed turtle in with the pots and pans
It’s kind of like scat in the woods
You don’t want to step on it but
I bring binoculars and a camera on my walks for a reason
Besides
Quiet doesn’t clean up

It's Happening


It had to happen

We had to put her in the stroller and
Bundle her up excessively
We had to erect every possible barrier that the stroller had to offer
Between the inside and
The world
We had to stay within quick sprint distance of the house
We had to be nervous

We had leave the house

So
I suppose
This has to happen too
Eventually

There are no home school fraternities and
I can’t hold her on my arm
Between my wrist and my elbow
Anymore

Of course
Right now
The burning behind my eye balls doesn’t stop
When I say

It has to happen

It had to happen

Thursday, August 09, 2012

The Power of Sequels


Tonight
We ran
Together
Side by side
Me in front
Her in front
I ran backwards
She walked
I cajoled
We walked
We talked
She shuffled her feet
She asked questions
We anticipated running by her friend’s house
Who wasn’t home
And then
One mile
Was over
but
She pulled out her bike and
Tonight
We started mile two

Wednesday, August 08, 2012

nature slips in


At home
At night
I can hear crickets outside
Crickets are everywhere this time of year but
They are loudest
A few doors down
Where there was once a house and
Where there was once and
Twice
Within the span of two days
A fire
Followed by a year or two of neglect
Alternating with attempts at renewal
With a dumpster and a jackhammer and
Ultimately
Surrender and
A bulldozer but
Even all of that
Was not enough
Without neglect
To allow for the little glimpse of the countryside
I get every night as
I step into my finishing kick
On my way
Home 

Tuesday, August 07, 2012

Lucky

Now
He
        Falls into questions
Positions
Arguments and
Out
Easily and
I roll with it
If you're at a small
Clear
Flat
Lake and
The stones are skipping
I guess you throw
Stone
Lake
Man or
Boy
We're all there
We don't all need to be aware

Monday, August 06, 2012

The Perfect Moment


Not every picture
Can be perfect
All smiles
Centered and clear eyed
Without editing
Taken on the perfect afternoon
Under blue skies
Hair combed
Pulled back and
Neat
Face clean shaven
Everyone looking at the camera and
Wearing matching clothes
No
Every picture can’t be perfect but
Neither can every moment
So sometimes
Something has to give