When I began providing grandkid care
(2 days a week), before the plague arrived,
the parents left for work all day, and there
in playful creativity we thrived.
Our moods in sync, our attitudes agreed.
I grew more close to him than I had done
with mine when they were small and knobby-kneed.
At home or out, awake or not, was fun.

Conditions altered when his sibling came.
The virus moved the parents’ work inside.
They almost micro-managed, and the same
discovery and freedom paled. They tried
to join and modify, in parts, our day,
as if themselves were hankering to play.