often i wasn’t aware of her presence
i—- n the room
she would make a noisy magazine sound
while i read or wrote or dazed.
sometimes she looked
across the room,
“you’re a good egg.”
it wasn’t my language,
perhaps like translating
from russian to polish
or the opposite.
the three of us were a congenial
t rio trio trio.
we always moved back together
at feeding time, at talking time.
we taught her the basic, simple rules
of poker
and uno.
occasionally she mixed up the two games
and what occured was an unknown
polish, irish american card game.
we drank alcohol as we played,
laughter increased with intake
it was always fun
she loves both of us
she tells me i spoil christie
christie adds beauty everywhere
i miss her laughter
sometimes late at night
i hear her chomping on some chocolate
it sounds as though she’s
bouncing on the clouds.
the three of us made a promise
to touch each other daily
it’s a wonderful tradition

(for Laurene)