ACCOUNT OF MY DAYS
Sequence: 4
SCHOOL
I love him in his smelly pants
and the scared eyes he keeps in his head.
I love him crouched at the edge of the playground
chalking lines on a flat stone with a soft stone
or sitting under a tree watching the other kids
running at and away from one another.
I love him laying in the grass by the softball field
when it's hot and the older boys play
with their shirts off and he wonders what makes him
keep watching them flash their arms and run.
Sometimes he stands by the towering swing set
with his hand on the silver-painted pole
feeling the shaking and tugs
of the big boys when they stand on the wooden seats
and grab the chains and use their weight
to make the swing speed and go so high
he dares himself to keep looking
so high it makes his heart leap.