the dust from the Kansas sky
collects in the air
a box of paint strokes it
makes shapes i’ve never seen
me and grandpa
we look up
and he knows
i fall in love
a thousand times a day
“son, you know you’re a handsome boy”
and i laugh
and call him a liar
we gaze up and
watch the ballet of clouds
he turns to me
and he says
“you do the same thing with women”
we laugh
and say he tells the truth
“why do you suppose that is”
and i tell him
i fall in love with beauty
respecting it
never touching it
without permission
implied or otherwise
we sit back
sip lemonade
and lose ourselves in the beauty of the heavens
looking at you
you are the same
collects in the air
a box of paint strokes it
makes shapes i’ve never seen
me and grandpa
we look up
and he knows
i fall in love
a thousand times a day
“son, you know you’re a handsome boy”
and i laugh
and call him a liar
we gaze up and
watch the ballet of clouds
he turns to me
and he says
“you do the same thing with women”
we laugh
and say he tells the truth
“why do you suppose that is”
and i tell him
i fall in love with beauty
respecting it
never touching it
without permission
implied or otherwise
we sit back
sip lemonade
and lose ourselves in the beauty of the heavens
looking at you
you are the same