finger puppets... 
my daughter asks me
what's a soul

windswept cemetery
a child burrows 
into her mother's skirt

mother's day 
the long silence 
between us

my eldest son’s birthday 
trying to recall
his little boy voice

rustle of corn leaves— 
fitting my son
for a new ball glove

house clearance
room by room by room
my mother disappears

temple arch 
a child on her papa's shoulders
rings the bell

New Year's beach stroll...
walking in the footsteps
of my child

my mother's palm — 
the lines of a future 
she wants me to have

the dead of night
my father wanders
through my dreams

dad's last summer
between us a complete understanding
of baseball

another game show
my mother settles down
into her shadow

eighth day …
I blow mum’s skin
from the pumice stone

surprise party
my father discusses
final directives

striking a match
dad tells stories of
his new family

daffodils
bend in the breeze
mom’s resilience

since my son’s birth the unopened whiskey

mother’s walk
we wander through
each other

spring afternoon
a mother licks blood
from her child’s finger

planetarium
my child enters
the night sky

haiku dad
I help my daughter trim
her college essay

father and I
build a bonfire
lost sparks

divorce final
our son learning
long division

dementia--
a chance to beat my father
at chess

early dusk . . .
my children’s footsteps
fill the stillness

my old mother tends daisies
telling stories about
my childhood

city fair...
my loosening grip
on father's finger

old comic books 
my son meets the boy
I used to be

family dinner
our teen speaks
in hashtags

the droop
of mother’s smile
mudslide