Perfect Gifts.

my daughter tried to throw awaymy Hot Wheels™ track the other daybecause she didn’t understandthe joy of seeing a little car landso far from where it used to bethrough wobbly ramps and gravitymy wife is under the impressionthat ‘cause I’m past 57I don’t need a Lite Brite™ nowbecause she hasn’t experienced howthe thrill of pushpin pointillismfulls the heart with wonder. It’s ananalog art-form that occuredbefore I knew what pixels wereOf yo-yos I’ve quite the selectionhalf a century of collectionstill I only know one trickand it’s not great. but I can pickone up and have just as much funas when I played with my first oneStress reduction. Nothing drastic.Piece of string and spinning plastic.I remember George Shaw saying“we get old when we stop playing”That is nowhere near my storyI’m not in that categorywooden boats and Tonka diggersdolls that I call “action figures”If a toy is all it takesWho needs more for goodness sakes?youth is something we createwhen we seek to recreatea good toy brings a quick vacation honest simple meditationwhen overwhelmed by the electronicPlay is my enduring tonicThis holiday, beneath the treemy daughter will receive from mea Hot Wheels™ car: and then, it’s onour living room’s the autobahnmy wife’s gift will be really neatsome black construction paper sheets.might even get my family toattempt a yo-yo trick or twofor even in the coldest weathertoys can bring us all together Get full access to :lowerblackpain at lowerblackpain.substack.com/subscribe