At the Window

He says,
“Mom, come here, Mom,
come here a second, Mom.
Look out the window.  D’you hear that?
Bird?  D’you hear that bird, owl?  Shhh, listen.”

Then he tells me,
“Your lap, Mom.  I want to sit on your lap, Mom.
Fall asleep on you.  Ok?”

I say,
“Yes, coming.  Just a moment.
I see, yes, I hear it.  Mourning dove, I think.”

Then I tell him,
“Ok, sure, yes, come on.
Ok.  I love you, too.”

And I listen to every word he ever tells me,
over and over and
again.  And I think about being held,
and always being held, about 
tenderness and constancy,
and fear, and having someone to run to.

And I think about blessings, and being blessed.  

 

 

 

Sweet Emmanuel

Chocolate milk in the morning,
knee-high hugs good-bye,
chocolate-spotted suit pants,
dark stains that won’t dry.

In what disguise will he turn up today?
Distressing, calm, or well?
It seems he sleeps and wakes within us,
sweet, Sweet Emmanuel.

We are each a Christ to one another,
each harnessing a dove.
We are Christ to each other,
loving and being loved.