by the noise of mowers
just as I opened the windows
you keep all your plans for the day
intact and take an early nap
-
Undeterred
-
Hide and Peek
Happenstance of neighbors
at the playground
eager to play perhaps
prompted by the novelty
of recognizing slightly younger
and older versions of themselves
as kids one of them hides and
the other apparently seeks
that is of course walks by the tree
by turns then reluctant to hide
herself our child fatigued
returns to our kitchen
runs to us in the living room
saying Hi and then as fast runs
back to the kitchen speaking
all the while recreating as
it were the position of both
the hidden and the seeker
the way she asks when tired
to ascend the stairs “I pick you up”
knowing I will of course it’s me
she means so called proper
pronouns get learned around
the visible tree along the way
from one room to another
-
The Shape of Hello
How did we lose
the natural shape
of the telephone
receiver to the ear
speaker to the mouth
the most intuitive
user interface ever
devised my child
takes one and knows
exactly how to hold
and communicate
imaginary conversations
and yet we relinquished
even the essential
as seen on Star Trek flip
to static flabs of screen
upon which we transmit
faces we still don’t know
how to hold just so
in our hands repetitive
stress screen fatigue
better to let the curve
nest in a cradle
we know how to answer
by saying hello
-
Look
Screen time today such as
it was involved letting
the Apple TV fall asleep
to initiate the screensaver
of recent activity in our
photo albums that mostly
concerned capturing our
child in various states of
having faces to which we
can only reply (by we I mean
mostly me) just look at that face
this is that face our child
may be taking after us
calling out to every object
in her vision this is that
object and this is another
and this is something else
the only one of its kind
in the whole world like it just look
-
Cleaning Up
Twinge of shame
as I survey the kitchen
there’s less to clean up
happy for a night without
yogurt and crumbs
in hidden crevices
sad our kid still under
the weather eating
and playing less
while teeth move in
however temporary
we might need to help
brush them for another
ten years or so must be
plenty of slow nights
still on their way
-
Cutting Molars
Know something is wrong
when the child refuses food
feels warm to the touch
Not quite feverish
a lot more low energy
stays in daddy’s arms
What to do? Should we
rely on pain relievers?
Go to urgent care?
Lucid moments show
the child is more talkative
when she wants to be
More teeth means more words
-
Beforecast
Weather clear starts
to remind me of
the atmosphere
I could feel when we
first came home
with our child
we left the house as two
and returned
as three
the grass was greener
the trees were fuller
than before
a comfort to know
the feeling returns
every year
as long as it does
-
Vocabulary
The words our child
exclaims most confidently
are often the words
we least understand
Crayon? Care? Cairn?
Crane? Crone? Corn?
Core? Crate? Crave?
Corona? Carry? Crying?
Sometimes with investigation
we identify the word
from a song and even
adjust lullaby time accordingly
Sometimes we catch ourselves
saying the word in context
which our child must have
mimicked successfully
Sometimes we wonder if
our child is just parroting us
and sometimes we know
she is creating her own language
as all of us take care to do
Joshua Keiter 