my niece and I

usually, i post a poem or muse about what i'm reading, but today i'll start by talking about my niece. almost thirteen, a laptop fanatic like me and quite cute. we're in LA, checking out the local scene like the walk of fame and melrose. she took many close-ups of stars from britney spears to john travolta. now, given her verbal dexterity and agility on the internet, she may become a poet yet. the daughter of my brother for whom i wrote the poem below.

My Brother’s Language

I trap honeybees in a jar.
My brother reaches into the air

and catches them in his hand
opens his fingers as if unfolding a flower.

I wait for them to fly away
or sting him.

When hundreds swarm
our screen door,

he curves his arms around the nest
and carries those bees to clover.