Pip squeak(s)…

for the ear bone

is the portion that lasts longest

in any of us, man or whale; shaped

like a squat spoon

with a pink scoop where

once, in the lively swimmer’s head,

it joined its two sisters

in the house of hearing…

— in Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver

Sometime,

last Saturday night,

I saw,

Coach V,

some where,

ethereal…

He made casual,

inquiries,

into,

what I’ve been,

up to,

since,

the butterscotch,

sundaes,

a few years back now…

All the detail,

I had to offer,

was a certain,

Je ne sais quoi…

He thought,

on that a moment,

and said,

I’ll be,

looking forward,

to reading that,

when it’s all,

said,

and done…

The weather man,

expected flurries,

at higher elevations today,

and the traces,

were sure there,

when I went walking,

this afternoon…

It isn’t unusual,

for daughters,

to find,

nothing more,

embarrassing,

than the things,

their fathers think,

are acceptable,

to wear,

out,

in public…

Whenever Starshine,

and Little Gem,

complain,

about their Papa’s,

cycling pants,

and how they don’t,

want,

to be caught dead,

with him,

in those,

I tell them,

they don’t have a leg,

to stand on,

compared,

to my dad,

and his cutting,

of the grass,

in lederhosen…

Starshine told me,

post trade,

Raffi was THEN,

and Zack,

is NOW…

You can’t go sending,

letters bombs,

to Mike Gillis,

every time,

things,

don’t go,

your way…

I wondered,

Why not???

She said,

Because…

Like getting us fake i.d.

so you can take us,

clubbing,

it isn’t mature…

Sometimes,

maturity,

is getting old,

and sometimes,

it’s all about,

seeing,

what’s old,

as new again…

And that,

my friend,

is the perfect sense,

of a woman…