O Those Cheeks

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round plump plums in summer
as I push your stroller round and round

scarlet mounds as you run round and round
grownups sipping aperitifs
taking no notice of you until you fall
gasping for air at their feet giggling

peaches in winter
roundly delectable sweet
and mine to nibble

pale apricots in repose
round blue eyes behind a sweep of lashes
as I read “Horton Hears a Who”

all memory now

as you read “The Underwear Dare” aloud
the snowy angles of your face
remind me of your father, uncle, grandpa
the cherished men in my life who preceded you
you laugh and I hear them

and we go round
and round
and round

O Those Cheeks appeared in the Spring 2024 issue of “Vistas & Byways.”