For you I’ll slow down

For you, I’ll slow down
To one mile per hour below the speed limit
And the thought crosses my mind that I may have missed a click
And I’ll ease over to the nearest parking lot
Traipse around to your door
Double check the straps
Not too loose, not too tight
Three clicks
Check, check, and check
And off we go again

For you, I’ll slow down
On my long morning walks
Getting my steps in, packing in as many miles as I can, every second of effort and value added
But you want to reach out and touch the ferns
You’ve never seen them before
At least, not when the sun is glowing down on them like this
You want to pluck a leaf from the neighbor’s ash tree
Bring it to your mouth
Stare in wonder at the bees pollinating, buzzing
You pay no mind to the distance

For you, I’ll slow down
I have 24 hours a day
To feed you, change you,
Learn three languages,
Write the next great American novel,
Keep the house tidy,
Walk the dogs,
Go back to school,
Call my sister,
Change careers,
Lose 15 pounds,
And figure out what on earth I’m meant to do with my life

You have 24 hours,
And you want to lay next to me
Tiny hand on my lips
As I kiss your palms
And I lose you to giggle fits
For the 38th time in a row

For you, I slow down
And lay with you
And bask in your giggle fits
And hold you as you sleep
There are days I want to put you down
Attend to my list, weightless and uninhibited
But most days all I want is your breath in the crook of my elbow
And to close my eyes and listen to the birds chirping the way they only do at mile 1.2