A boy in our lives, briefly.
A sweaty energetic thirst
for everything at once.
Nine years of bright eyes
and excitement in the moment.

A boy with new intentions
suspended over mind and body.
Messy, with coke and candy
rings around his mouth.
Dirty hands reach into the
potato chip bag.

He laughs infectiously
and we laugh because he does.
He says, “Yes Mam” and
in the next breath tells me
I look sick.

I am “sick” because it is seven a.m.,
my bones hurt and he is here.
But he is here with a joy that grabs
my pain and makes me forget.

My husband plays basketball
with him and video games.
Buys him ice cream and a balloon hat.
And the two of them watch pictures
slide out of a photo booth.
Pictures that preserve time together.

A string of photos to look at
before he leaves once again.
A nephew who delights and disappears
with his military family
for years, in a far-away place.