First petitions
That there will be one or two waiting
with hands to hold you through floods
of crowds and reaching for you in rivers
of sports fans rushing past your head;
to lay on blessings of evening explorations,
fidget through long hours awaiting
the door latch and the fridge slam you
tucked into a familiar corner at home;
to give up reaching and fall at the bedside,
fold and submit you and your youth
beyond the touch of helping hands
to a kinder embrace, not here but not far.
