We Put on Our Lives

On her birthday, in our
Nondescript hotel room
With a serrated view
Over packed townhouse roofs
Toward the Eastern Front,
Sarah has a chuckle

When she notices me
Stooping to dress, briefly,
For the minutes between
Our snug breakfast in bed
And my morning shower.
She provides narration:

"And he puts on his clothes
To take them off again,"
Which makes me laugh in turn,
And Sequoia laughs, too,
Because her parents laugh.
This is our mandala,

Our nuclear family's
Founding population,
For whatever birthdays,
Holidays, adventures,
Chances we get. This is
How we'll put on our lives.