rapt

she sits and listens

carefully, even,

only glancing momentarily

up to look at me, who is 

not raptly listening.

the perfect dictionary

it weighs at least a ton, 

loaded down with words like récapitulatif,

words I don't even know in English,

or certainly never use.

I could hear his laughter from the kitchen.

I love it, I wanted it, justifying

that it would counterweigh Mira when

she decided to walk....someday.

In lieu of scanning the on-line dictionary,

I have this beautiful book to protect

and love, to study and admire,

it's the real deal. 

Tea for 2: Part II

two cups on saucers.

no fill up until the cup is on the saucer,

straight, facing up, level.

you can do it, Mira.

I'll fill mine, then I'll fill yours

about a quarter inch in case all the

water ends up on the floor

"two hands", you'll have to put

the dog leash on the ground, and 

take the spoon from your mouth.

voila....

now drink, my sweet

the cool feel of your wet

onesie on your protruding,

rather, chubby, tummy.

my sweet.

I need to read that again

I don't particularly believe that STAMET

will erode from atomic oxygen bombardment

but I'm not 100% sure.

in these piles of papers are answers,

or partial ones to that question, and so many

others

I put 10 papers in a pile to read,

knowing that it's unlikely to happen

tonight

after washing dishes and making granola

after a day of work and a baby Mira

who cried when I wanted to put her in

the grass - what she usually loves but I

had no blanket this time

no time to rest on the grass

no time to read about STAMET

and atomic oxygen.

Push the button

she'll learn

to push the button, to see the screen

light up.

she already called my friend back

after we had hung up

random buttons do unexpected things, 

soon she will point at the people she

knows and call them, before she

has even learned to talk.

forget the scientifically developed

toys for toddlers,

electronics is where it's at

communication.

so you want to learn how to French braid

so you want to learn how to French braid

because you never learned how

so did your mother do it for you

how is it that you don't know how, when

all you need is to part your hair into three,

weaving each section into the others, from 

the crown of your head, down the back, finally

braiding the rest, normally, you know, down to

the end.

if you want to learn how to French braid,

put your hands on the crown of your head,

gently part your hair and let the tresses

fall into place, they will, I'm sure. 

time for tea

time for tea

for two, one to drink,

one to pour.

she drinks, I pour

she pours out, water

streaming across the floor

how fun is tea for two

another point of view

twice  a week I get unstuck

my  head on the ground, legs extended into the sky

upside down gravity, my body moving in space

cognition and reflection take a second seat

no backseat driving either.

I'm not very good at this move, slightly cheating

as I rest my knee on my elbow, but I'm in the game.

that's what counts, I'm in the game, I'm working it

I'm trying to see the world from all directions.

I've had a blast

When they take me away to the promised land,

I can say,

I've had a blast

immemorialized on this stone beside a river

this Bryan surely did

the stone says so

Korite

they can eat and drink to their stomach's content,

this end of Ramadan 2021, the festival of korite.

a day to dress in their finest, like this 

young man, Badou, my son,

dearest Senegalese son.

I see in their faces a softness,

born of their circumstance, their

faith, is it, in this world that 

is so unjust. leaving them to

struggle in dust and polluted air,

yet look at him!

so handsome in his new clothes

my son, my beloved son.

Capoeira friends

Maraveilla, Mateo, Formiga, Curiosa and Balanco

we are all friends, singing and playing, laughing,

cartwheeling

(except me)

and handstanding

(except me)

whirling, spinning, fast kicks

(except me)

I am the older one, the one who 

has never done a cartwheel or a handstand

but I am here, with my friends and we 

play and sing and laugh together.

I am here,

with them.

a rose by any other name

i have been her daughter-in-law for many years

but French was never her forte, Devaud being

difficult to remember how to spell, 

and besides, to her, my name does not end in a "d"

perhaps another letter, a "t" perhaps, but no,

that does not seem right either, perhaps an extra

"l" will soften the sound at the end of that 

very curious French-sounding last name. 

In her day, so much easier when a woman took her

husband's name, she knows, after all, how to spell

Haydel, but I appreciate the effort, even so.

I think you're great

I think you're great 

and I'm just a napkin,

but on the other hand, I think your sister

would agree, and she's someone special

with her doctorate in Physics from Harvard.

In fact, I think your wife would maybe 

support such an idea, if you can get her 

attention, 

I'm just a napkin and I don't get out much

but I have seen that many people come 

to your house and rave about your food

and seem to like you very much.

I am just a napkin but I do think

you're great, and I think other 

people, and napkins, think so, too.

a dangling foot

it's time.

to walk.

one foot on the ground

the other dangling uncertainly.

not sure where it will land

but Opa will hold her as 

the second foot delicately lands

some awkward distance from the 

first

she will shift her weight, now

suspended in space, uncertain

smiling.

tag:  Mira

the glow of the TV

I noticed that my feet glow

while I watch TV, it's been a hard day.

The ridges of the weave stand out

in the harsh light, the logo of the brand

that I could not even tell you

they all sound the same.

my jeans are rolled up, exposing the 

soft flesh of my ankles bulging out

from the elastic cuff

some women have slender ankles

I do not

this is a snapshot in time, some words that

I will likely  never put together again,

nor will I ever read them, it's another

poem, a passing observation on a chilly

evening after a long day.

another day gone by

until one day there

are none left.

Thank goodness for dishwashers

after the guests all wandered off

slightly tipsy, bellies full,

we wandered into our kitchen,

slightly tipsy, bellies full.

so very few minutes later, the dishwasher

whirred and spun and in the morning,

clean dishes, sparkling clean, 

small wells of water on top

of overturned glasses.

impossibly steep

I would fall fast,

I have, in fact, plummeting down

these impossibly steep stairs late at night,

in desperation

back then, there were no graduation pictures.

Life felt desperate.

now

not so much,

I would rather see the graduation pictures

as I slowly descend the stairs, or even slowly

ascending the stairs, a step behind Mira,

ready to catch her in case she loses balance

she is not walking yet, but will soon 

race up, and down, these stairs.

I don't feel desperate 

I don't need to find a solution

at the bottom of the stairs

at the end of an impossibly fast

fall.