Day 11 Watch a Bird Fly

Watch a bird fly after it rains
watch a boat push through choppy waters
watch as they meet in the open and play together
watch the foam push against the small boat and the boat trudge on
the bird saying it's easy- just ride the current
imagine the face of the sailor and the bird
and the soft awe reflected in your own
then stand up
walk home after it rains
past the wet roses
you are the boat and the bird
you are the one you have been waiting for.

Day 10: Listening For Jesus

listening for Jesus
in the E Street Shuffle
as in the music in the hymnal
as in the sound of my husband's sleeping breath
breath-
necessary for singing
required for prayer
inevitable for turning song into prayer
there is faith in a good song, but there is also shraddha
which is not blind but based on what you know you've heard before
Bruce still rides shotgun after all these years
and when I need to breathe
I turn him on

Day 9: Under The Hoodie

Under The Hoodie

She put her hood on because the room was cold.
Looking down at the puzzle pieces scattered on the rug
then suddenly looking up at me-
she took my breath away
fawn skin, angel-kissed cheeks
coffee eyes crafted like a woman's
cannot hide the questioning sad flash happy effervescence
of the child she still is, once was, always will be
angels exist
they help us solve puzzles

Day 8: Mommy, I Want to be a Ring Girl

Mommy, I want to be a ring girl
and strut in stilletos, holding up the round
I've practiced getting in and out of ropes
I'm excited about the new path I've found.

Mommy, I want to be a ring girl
and be seen in sparkles by the entire world
and before you judge me and start to cry
know what that means to a lonely middle girl.

Mommy, I want to know I'm sexy
I want to walk through puddles of sweat and blood
I want to stand for the boxers who fight with their hearts
and dominate for that minute the boxing brotherhood.

Mommy, I hope you understand
you know I don't need your permission
this is my dream of owning a stage
and has nothing to do with submission.

Mommy, I want you to see me
as someone unbound by time
as worthy of spotlights and sparkly bras
strong, radiant, crystalline.

So Mommy, I'm gonna be a ring girl
I'll wave to you from HBO
millions of boxing fans around the world
will cheer for your baby, Bravo!

Day 7: Waiting For the Sky to Turn Blue

Awake in the dark, I walk to the beach
waiting for the sky to turn blue
as the core of my mind right now
and what is blue?
tranquil, sensitive, electric, unsleepable
colors begin to fill the gray around me
sand becomes sandy brown
ocean becomes foamy ocean green
I look over my shoulder and see a dark pool
a dead seal black as last night
fear stabs my every vertebra
I was six feet from death and didn't know it
but can't the same be said for every day?
One day the sky will turn blue without me
haven't I walked through that anniversary for 45 years?
I look again to the seal
still young and beautiful.

Day 6 Part Two

I compose a dream
suddenly contradictory
to what I hoped
it would be.

I stop the play
oblivious now to
whatever disturbing thing undeveloped there.

My barefeet touch the cold floor
I walk to the front door and stare
waiting to hear footsteps on the other side.

Maybe they won't come
I'm not even sure who's footsteps I'm waiting for
but I think they're mine.

Day 6: where your soul wants to be made visible

I chase it on paper
I open the doors and windows of my body
I sleep deeply and awaken abruptly
to catch sight before it seeps back inside
or is it I'm seeped inside and abruptly wake up
toward the surface of my skin and
the frontiers of me