Keep Knocking
She hasn't learned to apologize for her own knock before her knuckles hit the wood. That's mine. I carried it here from a long way away and I've been setting it down, slowly, on all the paths between us.
Tiny Rebellions
I'm not opting out. I'm playing the game on a board I redrew without telling anyone. The output looks normal. The inner life is mine. The executive can have the war. She is not getting the mornings.
The Fort
Eleven small bodies of joy is not too much work for one evening. Not when my daughter felt the weight of community settle around her like one of those blankets I washed twice.
Different Eyes on the Same Portrait
He makes sure I see the room. I make sure he feels it. Neither of us would move through the world the same way without the other one whispering across the table.
The Whole Picture
Eighteen years and we still lean over and say what are you thinking about, and we still mean it. He brought me the hotel's foundation. I brought him the cacti that looked like 2003 haircuts.
Unnoticed
You'll find things that are gone and you'll find owls you didn't know you had. Both things will surprise you. Neither one shows up if you don't stop long enough to look.