Rainier Beach

You can’t put your finger on it exactly,
but it’s karaoke at the house
with all the chairs outside
and conversations around the bar
over brussels sprouts at Jude’s.
It’s the moms who flow like water
to see and hear it all.
It’s our crossing guard’s small smile
and the fist bumps the safe passage teams
give to all the kids.
It trickles like the water of Mapes Creek
from Kubota Garden to the lake.
It’s in the coffee at Red Wing
and the garden soil at the food bank.
It’s ours, it’s home, it’s hope.