A poem I wrote for you way back when…
Shhh
You drive us home that night, stroke my leg like one
strokes an animal to calm him, though I am
so near sleep I feel guilty. You say it’s okay
so I tilt my seat back, watch the lights
passing through the side mirror, stars slowly strung
like beads: quickly passing and aligning. Such
ease. Your hand rounds my knee then back.
Slow pulse of the road, impossible to read
how fast we’re going. It’s okay, go to sleep but
I want to watch your reflection in the windshield. You’re
the one who has to get up early. You’re the one
who’s been up all day and should be sleeping.
But you say shhh and I grip your hand,
unable to see the road and no need to.
from TALKING IN THE DARK (PUSH/Scholastic, 2003)