the favorite child

the favorite child

my daughter is obsessed
with being
The Favorite Child.
she brought it up
in my Mother’s Day card,
then again at the dinner table.
this has gone on for years.
my son has gotten touchy
about it, fights back,
no I’M the favorite child.
their papa tells
whichever one he’s with
they’re the best, then,
shhhhh
don’t tell the other.
i’ll tell you the truth,
which i don’t dare tell them:
i could not possibly
pick one,
but i do love
that they both fight for it.
each one knows
that they’re worthy
of being the favorite.
both day dreamers
imagining a better world
in the leaf shadows
outside their windows,
both certain
of their own genius,
confident in their ingenuity,
both not too shy
to declare themselves
the center of my spinning universe.