Commencement

Yesterday, Lily Jane Arens graduated from high school.

This weekend bloomed without my control.

I saw

a cat in a backpack, silky and sweet

Niblings, some taller now

new strands of silver for dark-haired girls

a row of not- kids striding the pitch

four horses of different colors

patches of sunlight on crimson robes

I heard

shouting voices, snatches of songs

wind whistling through thick leaves

excited whispers

my pulse in my ears

the bark of a stray for my tennis ball

the sound of her car pulling away