and olive oil, I go back for seconds and almost forget

it’s a vegetable.

There’s Daddy making Mama sit on his lap.

The two of them laughing

as the speakers blast Earth, Wind & Fire

all through the house, until the guy sings about

chasing the clouds away

and Daddy jumps up, still holding

Mama, and makes her dance with him.

They do old-people moves that look like they’re dancing to the words, not the music, but I can’t help dancing too

and from outside

or from somewhere far away maybe it looks

crazy and beautiful,

the house with the lights dimmed to gold and

the three of us moving through that light,

chasing the clouds away.

Migraine

Monday afternoon after school, I eat ten cookies standing at the sink,

wash it all down with one glass of milk and three glasses of water, run

to the bathroom because all that water goes right through me, come back

to the kitchen and microwave a beef patty. So hungry, I feel like I

could keep on eating, singing the song we learned in

chorus that day.

We come from the mountain,

living on the mountain.

Go back to the mountain,

turn the world around.

Me and Ollie laughed

the first time we sang it because the chorus teacher said

Ollie, you have such a beautiful alto voice!

and it’s kinda weird

when teachers compliment you

with words like beautiful. So Ollie started singing

in a high-pitched super-alto that made everyone laugh.

Except the teacher. She had to stop

the class to tell us why

the song was important

blah, blah, blah.

But now the song is in my head and I’m remembering

how nice it sounded when the

sopranos came in over the tenors and the basses

and the beautiful altos picked it all up.

I am singing when Mom tiptoes down the stairs,

tells me to stop singing so loud.

Your dad has a migraine, she says.

Another headache? I ask.

Mom nods. Takes the eleventh cookie out of my hand, says

Save room for dinner.

But I’m not hungry anymore. I’m scared.

My daddy was a mountain, a football star,

223 pounds of tight end.

My daddy was the world.

I want to go back to the mountain and

turn the world around.

Repetition

Even in songs, the lines keep repeating

and it’s okay. The chorus comes back around

like it’s making sure you understand

how important it is to the song’s story.

So how come when my dad repeats himself

it’s such a big deal? How come people

have to look at him all weird? How come

my mom has to say to him

Zachariah, you okay? You want to lie down awhile?

How come he has to look so confused and mad about it?

And yell I’m not crazy!?

How come it feels so scary?

How come it feels so scary?

Tests