cousins

i have cousins

once removed

twice forgotten

three cousins

whose names

i remember.

one is:

two

one is:

i

m

age

miss

in

g

thirty-two

one is:

two and two and two

( h o w c a n o n e b e a l l t h e s e n u m b e r s ? )

cousins have i

whose names

i do not remember

what is a cousin?

my brother's younger cousin?

my cousin's only son?

my mother's lonely nephew?

what is the distance between the toddler

on my father's porch

and the child

in my grandmother's yard?

who is the one

missing

in the middle?