Turning your tiny blue jeans inside out,
I wonder what stained your knee yellow.
Did you smile mostly or cry? Miss Susan’s
lively notes quote cute things you say,
but what quickened your heart today,
made you anxious, sent you into giggles?
Only yours to know! You seem too small
to carry it all. When I return from work,
you have forgotten the answers, or maybe I
forget to ask. Mulch has collected in your cuffs,
pouring out like dinosaur dust from playground
excavations. Before dropping the evidence
into the wash, out tumbles a stone
from your pocket. I hold it like a gift;
my fingers inspect your secret, then enclose it
in the palm of my hand. Was it a magic bean?
A pirate’s coin? A fairy tear? A super-power
pellet? A raindrop? Or just perfectly smooth
and comforting. I understand. I collect too.
You are my little stone—and everything.
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This is my V-day poem to Rowan, whose pocket contents are going to destroy my washer one day.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. The ending is really gorgeous, C!
ReplyDeleteLove this Caroline. So very sweet. ~Rhonda
ReplyDeleteI love this poem, Caroline. How you manage to write with such heart and so well....I love the way the poem moves, starting with the tiny blue jeans--and then wanders and ends so specifically. And the last line is so beautiful. What a lucky boy to have you as a mommy.
ReplyDeleteOh, oh! Love this!
ReplyDelete