January 23rd: A Monday

January 23^rd: A Monday

Now your story  enters the room

before she does and it wears

a thermal coat she doesn’t know

she has on at all and it glows

with more of you and it thickens

with more of you and she won’t know

going back to school her kindergarten

teacher will hug her like she always

does only a little longer a little stronger

and breathe in her clean hair (just

reflex just checking) and let her go

to the story rug and pull out a book

and say this one this one and yes

ok yes let’s and the whole day

is book after book and cookies

of magic and milk and anything just

anything sweet and a soft nap toy

a new one you’d picked up and dropped

off two weeks ago because you had this

thing about giving gifts on your birthday

and you asked teacher please yes

of course and it was there in the chair

the whole weekend after your news

a blue lion and his mane made entirely

of tags all sorts of textures and spots

and you knew which one she’d like

the most and pointed it out the rippled

one would feel best on her tongue

and isn’t that knowing your own

and it’s true the first thing she finds

is that one and she never cries but

when nap’s done she doesn’t stir

at all and teacher brokenhearted for you

for you and your daughter teacher builds

a paper brick fort with the other children a shhh

let’s surprise her fort when she wakes up

she’ll feel a princess shh, but let’s leave

the door open and watch her lion

see maybe he will wake up first

and ripple his fur and purr shhh

let’s just listen and wait and see