I’ve never understood
the pressure to rush
my children to sleep
on their own.
Am I so strange
to love these nights still?
Warm limbs
and her cheek00
on my chest,
her legs twisted under mine,
we hold hands
and whisper bits
of the day
and I tell her
all the reasons
I love her
until her breath
turns slow with sleep.
I am tired, yes,
but I am also reset every time
as the little irritants of my day
sink to the bottom
of my awareness
and I am reminded
that this is all that matters:
jamming our lives
with as many chances
as possible
to love.