More poetry for my boy

 

I don’t think I’ll ever run out of words to write about my boy. Someday he’ll probably be embarrassed by that.

Time Philosophizing

I need to remember this.
How you fit so neatly
in the space between my arms,
legs tucked like they were in the womb,
then stretching, searching for walls
that aren’t there anymore.
You smile as sleep arrives
trailing unknowable dreams.

I wonder
what secrets God whispers to you in sleep

In the morning your face scrunches
to filter the sunlight.
You contemplate my smile like a philosopher does a tree,
fist to cheek and scowling brow.
You don’t know any name except the one
given to you before time,
the one you’ll have to find again
once you grow up, when
all that time spent philosophizing
will finally pay off.

Your skin waits for scars to tell its stories
Your wide eyes catch the runoff of the world

I need to remember
because someday your hands
won’t be this tiny.
I’ll hold them for now
while they fit in my palms
but someday you’ll pull them out of mine
and your legs made of boy-bravado
will carry you away to the swing set
and beyond.