Todd James Pierce
Stars
The patron saint of earthly measures
lowers us, by ropes, so we can see you,
my mother, as a young woman again.
Dressed in cashmere and khaki,
you walk with your friends along
shadowy, moon-dappled streets
until you arrive at the gymnasium
where you watch your new boyfriend,
my father, play basketball.
You have been in love before
and have feelings which linger,
like out-of-town guests, for a boy
back east, but sitting here, you realize
you do not want him the same way
you want this man--this shy, witty man
who is uneasy with women. Already
you sense you will marry him,
that you will have a house together
and a family, but as you sit here,
hands tucked nervously under your thighs,
and watch him dribble up the lane
and shoot, you can think of nothing
other than your love for him, its force
and depth, how you will be washed
in its thick, aqueous light until you lie
side by side looking up at stars
and naming each one.
Page(s) 132
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