End of the Day

By the end of every day I want to leave nothing unsaid
who knows when the next time to say it will be?

If it is tomorrow so much the better
I want to kiss my son’s head carry my daughters

as they sleep from our bed to theirs
though it is not as easy as it was a few years ago

and touch foreheads with each dawn
before light burns our silent words away

*

Hollow-boned bird on the twig of this moment
knowing that twig is not home but all there is

to perch on I want to catch up with my own
lightness full of all that wings will cover

or carry with a piece of the end of the day
to add to the nest which will be good enough

when I alight at dawn and for the dusk
I will one day wordlessly drift down to