Happiness

She arrives with a screech

and the rattle of rubber

soles on wood floors.

Gaze averted toward

the ceiling, she grabs

my finger and pulls me

toward the switch, a gateway

to her happiness, glee

at ceiling fan’s blur

that disturbs air and blends

with her distorted vision.

When bulbs burst into rays

of light, her mood reflected

from a simple light,

she releases me back

to my adulthood brood

and starts her weekly

chore to put all the little

cars and all the little

people back into

proper little rows.

Richard Dinges, Jr. works on his homestead beside a pond, surrounded by trees and grassland, with his wife, two dogs, two cats, and five chickens. North Dakota Quarterly, Studio One, Rockford Review, Spadina Literary Review, and Stickman Review most recently accepted his poems for their publications.