When I…

I know I can be a little dark
but everything is a little dark
my eyes have not adjusted yet

When I hear a baby girl laugh
I feel Tinsley kick

When I see a little girl’s ponytail
I feel her do a somersault

When I smell ripe bananas
I feel her grow an inch

When I touch my son’s button nose
I feel her scrunch hers up, too.

None of this is dark, of course,
except she’s already dead.

And the only purpose the world serves today
is to remind me of that fact.