After Kevin Young
Praise to animals doodled on intake forms
Praise to the rattle of pretzels in Tupperware
Praise to stools that spin
And to the children that spin them
And to walls for launching from
Praise to headbands with red bows
Civilizing the snarl of unbrushed hair
Praise to green trucks that wind up
Praise to orange onesies
The exact shade of a creamsicle
On a hot summer day
Praise to the mother with a list of questions on her phone
Typed after cleaning up vomit
Or in the dark after bedtime
With eyes nearly closed
Praise to the father poised to catch his son
Praise to the sister who joined her baby brother
On the exam table
Rubbing his head like an eight ball
Offering up her stuffed panda
Praise to the boy who couldn’t stop talking
And the doctor who paused to listen
Praise to wiggling limbs
Praise to snot and blown noses
Praise to the crunch of exam table paper
Praise to the toddler who tore the paper into pieces
Not in anger or destruction
But to hear it tear
Because sound can be discovery
And the spill of sound sloshes the ears
Like color does the eyes
Praise to receptionists with a box of stickers
Praise to floor-length windows
That allow the sun to
Filibuster florescent light
Praise to the shaggy fur of the bear in the lobby
Labeled Ursus Arctos
Praise to no follow-up needed
