Cousins

Cousins

Two girls,
one blonde,
the other a redhead,
take turns pushing each other
on the white,
wooden porch swing suspended
from the two-story oak
in the front yard
of the Iowa farmhouse.
The blonde one sits
with her legs extended across the seat
as the redhead pushes her back
and forth
and then runs under
the swing in an underduck,
both of them laughing and smiling
as the sun glints
off their shiny hair.
Then it's the blonde's turn to push. Her
pink and white striped skirt,
that clashes
with her purple T-shirt
with a glittery plastic E.T. on the front,
sways as she runs back
and forth
in her effort to push the swing high
enough to duck under it.

As the sun begins to set,
they sit side by side,
bare feet dangling
above the ground,
and pump their five-year-old legs.
The swing's chains creak
and rub against the bark of the branch
the swing is suspended from.
They swing
higher
and higher,
reaching
for the darkening sky with their feet
until
the porch light blinks on
and off,
signalling
them to go inside.
They grip the side of the swing
as they reach with their black-bottomed feet
to the worn strip of lawn
below them.
Dragging their feet as they go
backwards,
they slow themselves down
enough to jump out,
holding hands,
at just the right moment
and race back to the house
where a redheaded woman waits
in the doorway.