Vignettes

Clothing for the day

Little golden curls Matching outfits and far too many hair accessories Layers upon layers of winter clothes Ready to brave the brisk air as we bicycled to school.

Fruitarian

Little fruit bat. Little fruit bat. Blueberries, raspberries, blackerries, strawberries. Figs and grapes, pears, and plums. Mangos, kiwis, bananas, mikans. Devouring the fruit of the earth. Little fruit bat. As I started to make whipped cream, you poked your blueberries into the puffy cloud, always ready for a sweeter treat. And yet– watermelon– the one fruit you wouldn’t eat.

Mint leaves

It drove me crazy, the way you would raid the mint and basil. Picking off the leaves, little herbs in your hands. Our own tree of life, our own tree of good and evil. I moved them to the top shelf, and by the time I came back to them, you were the one who had withered away.

Eiffel Tower

On a boat Next to the Eiffel Tower We were on a boat Next to the Eiffel Tower And I was so happy Having dinner with my girls The glittering lights Glittering lights Glittering lights Glittering lights The music Moving your tiny body Joy A joy I couldn’t feel without you Expressed in your little dance.

Ice Cream

The coldest day of your life And yet you wanted ice cream. Hot chocolate for me, ice cream for you. Spinning round and round, on a riverine island. The city of a hundred spires.

Double decker bus

What is poetry compared to a double decker bus? Not that we even rode on the upper deck! The romance of London imprinted upon the smallest heart. A tea party. Figgy pudding. A Christmas tree. A sarcophogus from the London Museum. How did you see so much in so little time?