Up

Up. I hear a strange noise. I think there’s an intruder in the house. I lay still so I can better sense what I’m hearing. I hear a shriek. I hear a cry. I realize it’s Xander. I get up. Change his diaper. Give him a bottle. Rock him back to sleep. Put him back in his crib. He sleeps. Pre-dawn is dark and now, quiet. I realize why it is that it is the young who have babies. I cry. I shriek, inside my head. I am up. Still.

Laughing (not sleeping) grandson