... on attending the kindergarten graduation of my best friend's son...

On Attending the Kindergarten Graduation of My Best Friend's Son

It's been so long
since I set foot
in an elementary school
that the dresses my mother wore
in the 70's
are now back in style,

the sleeveless silky ones
that fall just above the knees
in bright floral patterns, or
checks and stripes, or
houndstooth,

even the hairband
the tall blonde mother of two
is wearing as she checks
her camera for batteries
is just like the one
my own mother wore
in her long, black hair
when she would drop me
at school,

and as I fall back
to let the young parents
around me move forward
to snap pictures
of their smiling children
as they file
into the gymnasium
and up to the stage
to begin their graduation
show

I feel myself shrinking,
the basketball hoop
above my chair drifting
off to the ceiling,
the mats on the floor
just like the ones that I
learned to tumble on,
and that impossible rope
hanging from the rafters
that I was so scared of
until the one time I finally
beat it and made it to
the top,

and I am
5 years old again,
hearing my mother's
sweet voice echoing
off the cinderblock walls
and high glass windows,
weaving its way over
the sing-sing choir
of small faces
nervously eyeing
the first crowd
they'll ever face,

I am proud of you, son,
so very, very proud.

(... today was the kindergarten graduation for Jay and Danielle's son, Connor, and I of course went along to cheer him on... and the setting brought back so many memories and thoughts, I knew a poem was percolating inside...)