My 42 Haiku

We celebrated 

our birthdays with overdue 

visits from old friends.

Teppanyaki fry

rice, chicken, beef mix of life

sizzle stain hot meal-

Abqaiq rolled back in.

Smoke fog hazed the entire scene

Candles were blown out.

Ring in the back pain

rejoice in the "I used to" 

on to 43.

Rosie Turns 11

The sand covered my world-
our patio turned into a cement desert.
Hose it- sweep it- clean it; but the sands
of time
return.

My table, an hourglass with years
marked in grains.
Radiohead blaring from 1997: "in an interstellar burst-
I am back to save the universe,"
my wrench in one hand
and my assembly directions spread across the
sandy table.

11 steps to trampoline assembly,
the perfect birthday gift.
11 years of Rosie.

Born into the sands of Saudi,
"an airbag saved my life!"

Jump high and free
and fly in perfect
kid body and mind-
a last celebration before
puberty.

My dearest Rosie has made 11 trips
around the sun and

my sand piles higher upon the table...