Noxzema

One small whiff of
the aging lady sitting
next to me and it's
as if I am
eight again
Standing in Babish’s
pink-flowered bathroom with
pink tiles and
(yes) pink tub
Watching her
slowly rub the
white chalky paste on her
wrinkled face
I remember the
maple syrup jar filled with
checkers that I used to
play with and
the gnarled pine cones that fell from that
sticky tree in the front yard
Sometimes we would find one, small
brown toad in the
windowsill and
Watch him
hop around the
murky porch floor
But in my memory every night is
filled with fireflies and
polka waltzes played on the piano and it is
because of this that I know

although sometimes I forget
You are always with me.