We don’t talk about it
before or after
but when it’s just me and her in the car
I turn on Jessie Farrell
I reach one hand back for hers
and we sing as loud as we can
I did this yesterday
on the way to her playdate
and I don’t think
she saw me cry
the warmth of her little hand
and the wretched
fleetingness of it all
she doesn’t yet know
her way around the city
to know that I always drive
the long route
when it’s just us in the car
but as I circled the block over and over
she said
Hazy sure lives a long way away
then she squeezed my hand
and we sang even louder.