Flying over the town chasing my reflection on the glassy water I slam into it like a loon hitting the surface hard with a desperate wind shattering (wings flapping) moment—before landing I am drinking coffee with Junior that is he stares at me with his round amber cat eyes waiting to jump into my lap at the precise moment I lift the cup to my lip All morning he has been barking mouth fluttering at the one bird who comes every day to torment him I watch my little family still sleeping Lise cocooned in a star quilt she carried with her from South Dakota The shape of her long body beneath it purple and white Shiala wrapped in the fuzzy red blanket from Jordan purchased at the glatt market in Tzfat one freezing fall evening And Nathan all but obliterated by his yellow Spongebob backpack that never leaves his side Only his small feet peeking out from under the coverlet give him away retreating from babyhood losing their squarish baby shape Provincetown, 2003
Hiding Out