She had been saying it
for ages
I don’t like the car seat
and we barely heard it
like so many of the complaints
that litter the air
in a family
we soothed
in that robotic
flat-eyed way
sorry my love
you have to be in a car seat
we’d strap her in
and roll down the window
because she likes that
and yesterday
he asked me
if we had any foam
we couldn’t find any
and I kept packing
but the next morning
as we loaded up the car
for our road trip
he asked her
is your car seat
more comfortable now
a smile cracked open her face
and her feet swung with delight
daddy made it better
I put my hand on his cheek
and tried to find the words for
please teach me
how to remember
the person inside
her small
voice.