With a mattress propped
on its side against slip’n’slide
chute from the top bunk
he becomes a whale
slide splash slide splash
return and I’m a starfish
fingers wriggling headed in
amid roars of giggles rising
like bubbles from the deep
until he comes out of the sea
to go on safari becomes a trekker
as I morph into a tiger
soft gutturals increasing into
curtain shaking roars until
his eyes go wide and he proclaims
No more, Gma, no more!
and then he giggles and climbs
to find his courage and demands
More tiger!
and we both collapse with laughter

–baby now toddler
years already fleeting blur
bike wheels spin pure speed