“i’m going to be an astronaut”
she sucks her lips in and
stares down at the daisy
twined in her fingers.
twists and turns and
twists and turns the stem.
looks up sharply when he snorts,
narrows her eyes and purses her lips.
“what’s so funny about it?”
he grins, wide and easy and loose,
all golden skin and endless limbs.
he leans in and drawls:
“just don’t cry when you fail.”
she tries to throw the flower
at him but he catches her hand and
kisses it with a wet smack.
“don’t hurt yourself”
he picks up the flower from where it’s fallen
onto her lap and
tucks it behind her ear.
his fingers brush her flushed cheek,
she bites her lip and
doesn’t answer.
“leave the exploring to the boys”
her father says
that night when he pauses at her doorway.
she stays silent
and pulls the covers over her head.
remembers her dream from two nights ago
moon dust and a cool suit and
so high up nothing mattered.
but her friend mary talks about getting married
and anna talks about sewing baby clothes
and no one talks about astronauts.