For John

Johnny pushes like he means it
and he does
As do I

Between us
it's like a swing set
this way and that, yet always back
to center:

wine, meat, art,
a passion for women
and life,
everyone's lives

Bemused looks pass
like greasy napkins
clumsily mopping at the spilled
and spilling wine

His parents' living room--
beyond his mother's Disneyalia--
a war museum & one-table gun show
of Johnny's odds and ends

Yet I feel welcome and safe:
the good chair,
a tray full of steak & potatoes
waiting just for me

The swing set saves us
this way and that it goes
and back again to center
our shared median

We hop
swerving from the apparatus
We hug and smile

Our greasy napkins
dark,
heavy and red