Living room picnic

My six-year-old daughter
makes a picnic lunch in our living room
dressed in her brother’s collared shirt
and flowers in her hair

she makes cucumber sandwiches
but it’s the way she arranges them
on our plates which is special

I know this because I sit on the stairs
above the kitchen watching
as she tries a dozen different variations

for mama
for dad
for Bookey

she whispers to herself
switching them up
and re-naming the plates

finally she is ready
and she calls us down
the same way I do

and when we propose a toast
with purple milkshakes

to family

she says
but when she looks at me
I realize it wasn’t about the sandwiches

she somehow knew
I needed this moment so much.