this life

Rituals

Small house. Narrow space. Competing schedules. When the day comes to an end, I carry my three-year old into a dark room where, more often than not, his older sister is already asleep, turn my phone’s flashlight on, and choose a book … or two … or three.

light reading
under the blanket tent
brown bear brown bear

Waiting

Car parked on the side of the road, I wait for my wife to finish work. Sometimes it takes five minutes. Sometimes ten. Next to a cinder block wall that hides a cemetery, there is an old tree. It leans slightly to the right, out over the road. Its roots buckle and crack the sidewalk that was paved around it. I look at it. It looks back. A gentle wind stirs.

quiet today
the old tree
waves to me

Muddy

Driving, everything that I want to say, falls into place. Then, in the space it takes to walk from my car and into the house, everything comes undone.

the slow drizzle of rain
one by one my words
become a puddle

This

Cold in the long shadows, I shiver, my head down, watching the quick feet of my dog. He doesn’t stop to smell anything. He just scurries forward, occasionally looking back, as if to say, Can we go home yet? Sure, I think. Why not. And then …

greeting me
as I turn the corner
morning sun

Limits

Talking. Yelling. Laughing. Playing. Dawn to Dusk. All day long. Endless conversations and monologues. Statements of appeal: Daddy, look at me. Daddy, look at me. No, Daddy, look at me. But suddenly, all that noise is muted.

the silence that falls
between hungry kids …
late lunch

Pit Stop

How many times have I seen them and not noticed them? Not noticed them? More like forgotten about them. Or not paid attention to them. That seems more accurate. How many times have I seen them, stood on them, walked over them, and not paid attention to them? Countless times. And then today, for some reason, here they are, louder than ever. And I find myself thinking, It’s so hard to believe that all of that really happened.

stickers on the floor …
reminders of
social distancing

Rusted

Living halfway around the world from where I grew up, sometimes I am stunned by the similarities that, out of nowhere, present themselves. A sudden smell. A random song. An awkward social interaction. A new but old product. A popular TV show. The merging of traffic. Trending ideologies. Etc.

old train tracks …
leading me back
to my childhood

As always, thank you for reading.

All poems and images are original. If you have any comments, feedback, or suggestions, please feel free to share them.