my son and I have traveled seven days across ten states
to pause at home before driving on to the California coast
one of his boxes is open on the floor
disks spilled out, their titles in Japanese
i don’t recognize most of his possessions
we have been apart many years
he has become a mix of my little boy and a fully grown man
steeped in complex worlds I only dimly understand
this is how it should be
yet I struggle to nurture that little boy I held in my arms
one mountain summer day long ago
smiling at one another on the wooden bridge
as the cold stream tumbled and murmured
of things to come
The Ace Hotel Notebook 