Bloom

It's true, I thought it was funny to ride my bike
in front of the house where the man
would open the curtains, naked.

But, today might be the day
I stop missing my childhood.

This morning, the tiger lilies opened
their throats, the clematis
grown tall as a fifth-grade girl.

I braid my daughter's hair
and remind her not to take the shortcut
through the Laundromat or the alley.  

I know the world can be broken,
yet beautiful. I want to believe loneliness

is not menacing, but can be a window
from which I watch her walk away.