Bubbling Over

Aerial dribs and drabs, a sidewalk canvas As a toddler chases bubbles her mother blows from confectionary soap, Fluttering fluidity in spring air Child's laugh, a mosaic of innocence, discovery and glee Her run after each globe, unsteady, twisted gravity Her footwork shifts in warfare wobble, no sinkhole falling Her reach to pop each bubble, circus kerfuffle, giddy, giggles that swing like a trapeze artist, while a mother retrieves unexpected memory shards of recovery that coat a guarded self Neverland jester, a child's guileless glow, routing air baubles unconstrained by space, untethered from fear, avoiding a fall off the planet to limited mobility For sometimes life's march doesn't start on time Poem revised: April 19, 2021