THE ME I AM

I laugh
with a dead man’s laugh
(a man I never knew)  

my grandfather’s laughter
flowering like Springtime
blossoming in my mouth

not
listening
to the years

Time
joins the dots
Painting by Numbers

I see
with my mother’s eyes
the world

stealing into my mind
become music
anything it chooses

Time joins the dots
Painting
by numbers

This gesture
is my big sisters
gathering me

up into her
nearness
tenderness

Time
joins the dots
Painting by Numbers

My father’s love
beats in my heart
sings in everything

it touches
amuses
me to see

how I am
all those others
as well as me

Time joins the dots
Painting
by Numbers