Waiting in a Tree on Her Birthday
The pressure treated boundaries
Of the sandbox
Are old, even brown and rotting in places
Into splinters that are dangerous
High above
In the only elm left on the block
Allie sways
As the sun goes down
Waiting for her grandparents
On her birthday
(party dress, ballet slippers, purple barrette)
Her golden retriever
Who had been inside all day
Sits patiently underneath
With nothing to do either
Again and again exercisers walked beneath her
Pumping their arms briskly
Oblivious
As expected,
Allie’s grandparents
From New Jersey
Are running a bit late
And still she sits, pins and needles
And just a little bit annoyed
Finishing her initials in the bark.
(2012)
