He holds up the drawing
he made in school that day
almost twice as high as he is
so I can see it,
a purple slightly more than
stick figure, a green swirl
cycloning the head and heart
he says is me eating salad,
'cause he knows I like salad,
says, "You are a salad brain,"
grins, his first loose baby tooth
barely hanging on.

~

First warm day of spring
I let him walk through the puddles
at the park but not splash.

He climbs the lime green twisty slide,
gives in, allows gravity to return his body
back tot he ground, runs&runs&runs
around the merry-go-round pushing it 
then jumps on, proud of himself,
holds out a hand, says, "High five!"
every time he comes around.

~

From his booster seat behind me
on our way to the indoor RV show,
outside minus five, he sighs, exasperated,
says, "I still don't know how everything got here,
how everything was made!"

Jan Carroll's books Enough of a Path to Get Through and Self-Portrait in Scraps of Paper are available at The Local Store (205 N. Dewey St., Eau Claire).