It’s summer,
so there is talk of needing
a new barn cat, fortifying
birdfeeders against squirrels,
and painting the house
just in case we decide to move
before another winter
hammers the shutters closed.
But, it’s evening,
after a cooling rain;
the porch is wrapped
in warm starlight
and the neighbors are out
catching fireflies.
We listen
as childhood
glee in creation
fills their jam jars
and floats over the fence,
inviting us into
a softening discovery
of life with roots.