Beg Approval

Because the only view we have is the one

that looks down on the knees. Praise perspective.

Praise shared disdain. Praise space made by connective

tissue; the synaptic cleft; elbowroom

at the dinner table; polite conversation;

lies you push through your teeth. Because dissecting

a dog's heart won't change the way it thinks. Praise redirected

traffic. Praise the gnarled lip that defends

the gentle bones. Because your mother was

a seahorse. And to think of her thin is

to empty all the ice from the tea glasses;

to strain the soup by driving it through your hand.

Praise tablecloths; sway-back chairs; the plastic

folds that protect slice after slice of cheese.