the day is long and full of names

Rainrainfor our Aubrey Bean
Rainrainwho had to leave the party early

remember when we were little

and there was a party and we
went to the party and we were
so nervous because of everything

we were so nervous in our
bathing suit and breathing skin
and we cried because it was
too much and the everything

was so new everything so big
everyone so new and the faces
so strange and then someone
asked us our name

our name was all we ever needed

all we ever wanted and they took
our hand and led us through it all
and then we began to learn all
the names

before, we were so afraid of the water
until we opened and began to learn

its name

and then we were swimming
and the water so cold and fresh
and the sun was good and warm
and the laughter was everywhere

then we were running and then
the grass and then our knees
rubbed green and the sun was
so bright and the laughing was

everywhere

we spun and spun and the light
fell through our eyes and we ate
small sweet things and the sun
was in our bellies and the laughing

full of sweet and everything so huge
so huge so full and so many voices
and we held hands, shrilled and jumped
and our little bodies moved and someone

showed us magic and our faces fell open in awe

we hugged and loved our new friends
forever as much as our little bodies could
hold forever and we drank cool tall
water and missed our parents

we played hide and seek and
closed our eyes and no one could
see us and we chased and chased
and ran and ran and our bodies

grew tired with the day, tired and aching
from the one day full of magic and we
grew sleepy and we didn’t want to leave
and we cried

cried because we knew we had to go

home – we knew we had to go home
we had lived so much that day we were
so full and tired our muscles couldn’t
lift our heads

we were carried to the car and still

we heard people swimming and laughing
but the car door was open and someone
we loved was carrying us to the back seat

where there was a blanket and we
can’t remember how we got home
but we did

and the day was long
and full of names