catching up the baby books
I Wanted To Write Something Funny Today
but my daughter threw up
tomato soup on celery-green shag
the tile-and-floor man
finally showed up
before I could dress
or poke holes in my hair
for my eyes
and nobody kissed me
the whole damn day
My Nightmare, Your Dream
for Steve away at Wichita State
like your grandfather
who spent my childhood on planes
you soar with aerodynamic longings
hoping to fuel planes for spring break
to jump from them this summer
taking pictures of your feet
catapulting in fast-forward
toward sun-baked Kansas soil
I crane my neck imagining
the blinding glint of your descent
raise my hand to the sun
as you drift across my lifeline
your camera lens dead center
on my free-falling heart
Until Our Sides Ache
the best moments come unbidden
on the deck at night
uncontainable laughter
and its welcome tears
causing the stars
to whirl dizzily and shatter
our world reflected
in a cracked lens
kaliedoscope dissection
each fragment a compliment
of inevitable surprises
fireflies rain down
on our dazzled faces