Kids These Days
For Tom on Your Birthday
This is just to say
Thanks
For every single hug
you so freely give,
all-encompassing and bear-style;
For checking on me
-- and on all of us
just to make sure we’re all okay;
For occasionally reaching for my hand,
--even past the age of 10,
when you told me it was time to stop;
For laughing out loud
at all the silliest jokes,
--a nosy pepper?
jalapeno business;
For adventures galore
that always include ice cream;
For Star Wars and spaghetti nights;
For dreaming out loud
about playing short stop for the Yankees;
For loving vanilla so I don’t have to share my chocolate;
For your unending patience
--all those too many times
I’ve said, “I’ll be right back,”
because I needed to go parent your brother;
For cheering on your teammates with gusto,
and knowing the win lies in the memories,
not on the scoreboard;
For living so comfortably
in your own skin;
For saying good night;
For knowing how to forgive;
For our I love you ping pong
whenever one of us has to leave:
unceasing volleys through the narrowing crack in the door,
adamant affection.
If I didn’t know any better,
I’d think you were stubbornly
in need of the last word,
but I know you and your worrisome heart:
--don’t fret, we will see each other again;
For driving me to
the best version of myself;
For shining like a beacon of light
in a sometimes too-dark world;
This is just to say
Thanks
for
You.
