I watch opposing feelings

As they flit across your face

You want to pet the puppy

But you want to keep your space

This just might be the most

Exciting thing you do all day

But first you have to make the call

If you will go or stay

Exhausting but Enchanting

Each age has got its challenges

Each age has got its charms

So vulnerable and precious

When she was just a babe in arms

Starting to get stubborn

As she learns what she can do

She’s exhausting but enchanting

Now that she is almost two

I think I’ll plant mint in their garden

And sixteen euphorbia too

I’ll block sun from all their tomatoes

With a nice grove of bamboo

It’s not my style to swear and shout

When someone’s being mean

I’ll smile and wait and then I’ll strike

Revenge is best served Green

Dance like a toddler on Facetime

Joyous and wild and free

Dance with your Yaya and send her that

Unselfconscious glee

Dance like you’ll bridge the distance

Of three time zones as you Twist

Dance like you just have no idea

All the moments that you missed

Sarah has Opinions

And makes them clearly known

She wants oranges or olives

And most certainly The Phone

She orders us to sit or stand

To come here or go there

She wants to say who gets to sit

In every single chair

But please don’t say she’s bossy

That’s just bad for little girls

Say instead she’s bound to make

Her mark upon the world

When my baby cries

It strikes like lightning

Shoulders – neck to head

The composure I’ve created

Is abruptly torn to shreds

But when my baby laughs

It washes sunlight through my heart

Like the very first warm day in March

When spring’s about to start

Fighting sleep with all her might

We slip down to the chilly night

The night air works its magic balm

Her wailing cries subside to calm

On Daddy’s chest she rests her head

We slip her upstairs into bed

My brain is like a scratched CD

Sometimes it just skips

I rummage through to find a name

But through my grasp it slips

I wonder if it’s temporary

From our communal strain

Or are we stuck forever

With these new pandemic brains?

In the rain

Amid the pain

I entertain

         A baby

In the rain

With a migraine

I go insane

         Yes, maybe