If I were to write a poem tonight,

Would it be about the drink growing warm in my hand, or
The cigarette I'll surely be smoking soon?
Would it be a about the day's labor and ...
Unfulfillment?

Could I write about a niece's laughter and value
Beyond money, beyond time,
In concert with the antics of a duck and a bear?
A laughing child,

Who's eyes are tumultuous seas of frustration
And pride, concealing the machinery of wisdom
Behind a simple facade; her nose
Is running, but

Is an act of kindness,
(wiping a 2 year old's nose) a poem?
There is discomfort and confusion, there is
Struggle and pain giving way

To trust, to care and to love.
And she smiles, and she says,
"Thank you," and forgets for a moment,
And asks for her bottle.

And if I were to write a poem tonight ...