Christian Kehr

The best gift I’ve given is the peppermint plate
The one you stared at as we drove by daily
Always pointing it out on our morning drive
Glimmering in the window, beckoning

To you, it was an escape
High behind glass, too bright for our table
Fine China in the hands of a toddler

To me, it was a galaxy, a world
red curling into white, refusing to stay separate
A wanting in your voice I heard before I understood

I couldn’t reach the glass or tell you why we should stop,
so I made one myself
A paper plate and markers
A far cry from the one we saw in the window
Too old for crafts, too young for anything better

I remember your tears that Mother’s Day, The paper plate dwarfed in your hands
But you held it like fine China

Who will give a plate to me?