Egg ellipsed popping lips
burble for attention
grown-up dining cannot give.
I can offer no pretense
of conquered formulae,
knowing a man by his walk,
A woman by sweeping hips
to beckon, please, carry
a boy to his first filled lungs.
This confusion unresolved,
he screams reflexively
at walls he knows he can't climb,
refuses to wash his hands,
lie down in bed, or wake
up too late to say goodbye.