I remember the orange tree
you planted in the backyard
I remember the dog you kept
on a chain beside it--
life: its pleasures
tangled in the leash
of the dog who had committed
no offense.

We mastered the yo-yo
when we were very young,
hurling headlong
into a dazzling world,
then snapping back
in an instant
to the safety
of own damp palms.