for D

it's not a course you take at penn
there were weightier matters there at hand
economics and finance and whatnot
spring breaks and cool gigs and foxtrot
ok fine, so there was no dance
i'm breaking away from the tyranny of the stan-za

in those halcyon days
romance teased but didn't linger
in the intervening years
there was a dim sum dalliance
still, true love took its time
and the heart yearned and hungered

but here it is
under the light
sure and certain and right
this might sound premeditated
but "the hardest to learn was the least complicated"

(from the indigo girls' least complicated)

there’s nothing here but fierce chickens
the cock crows raucously and lustily
for his lady friend beside him
for me
bird-brain stares
affronted by this effrontery
this invasion of his territory
then a burst of speed
a mad flapping of wings
as poultry adrenaline surges
in defence of fowl urges
till the intruder is banished
from bird’s eye-view
and amorous overtures
can begin anew

for s

you will forget
(as babies are wont to)
the day we spent in play
of picking things up and throwing them
(how quick you were to learn!
to your nanny's subsequent dismay)
of the walk in the woods
and the leaves and twigs
i picked for you
again and again
of how you ambled over
to lay your head on my shoulder
but you were merely
wiping your mouth
on my new shirt sleeve
you wily rascal!
laughing delightedly as you ambled
away