All last night,rain didn’t so much fall
as dash itself against the world,
thick and fast,
the way the sound of a few people clapping
builds to an audience ringing with applause.
Something about a rainy night
when we’re at home
tucked into beds
with books to read–
I feel clever
and prosperous, to have landed
us here, in lives so warm
and well-fed, with such thick blankets and soft pillows,
double-hung windows and Christmas lights.
Even the cat is comfortable.
For a few minutes, on the edge of sleep,
I feel like all that applause is for
what a good job I’ve done.
Category Archives: Family
The Crowd Goes Wild
Last Night at the Cafe
Your teenage language, a dialect
made entirely of grunts and silence
Opened.
On stage,you played this new language
of old songs and guitar chords,
carved from nothing but talent
and your lazy will, harnessed.
The dinner crowd—
couples and old ladies and little kids
giddy with holiday shopping
understood you
Perfectly.
Anna and the Wind
Tomorrow, snow in the forecast
but today, weather’s relaxed and setting records.
The last time November felt this gentle
was the year you were born.
We took off the heavy baby clothes
that I’d just figured out how to put on
and took the stroller out for hours.
You’d gasp and laugh when you caught
the soft breeze in your upturned mouth.
I’d wheel you, walking behind,
sun warming our cool autumn faces,
me steering while you practiced
how to face into the wind.
Puff Of Smoke Poems 