These are the things
that happen when you are asleep
we turn the fort
back into a couch
and hope you won’t remember
we eat the rest
of your dinner
we organize things
into piles
to go beside
the other piles
on the stairs
and we think
good enough
and after our friends leave
that you never knew were here
we are suddenly seized
by an eruption of joy
as we dance a fast waltz
by the front door
while your dad imitates Jimmy Stewart
singing to the tune
of your tinny old train.