my daughter eats a cupcake

my daughter eats a cupcake

from the top down

starting with the swirls of frosting

it gets all over

not just on her teeth and lips

but also on her face and in her hair

she's three

I've eaten my cupcakes

frosting last

for years

delaying my satisfaction

shoving a mouthful of

frosting-less cake

between my teeth

before I let myself enjoy

the sweetest part

I know about the marshmallow test

the supposed importance of

having the will to wait

to pause before taking

what you really want

I think

I should teach her to eat

her frosting last

so she will someday

be successful

get a job

make a lot of money

be fulfilled

but then I see her

walk away

the frosting gone, her face and hair

all blue and red and sugary

the cake still there, unbitten

she's taken what she wants

and leaves the rest

relishing her pleasure

joyfully ignorant of convention

of waste, of patience,

of expectations of self-control

she licks a smear of frosting

from her face

and laughs

I think

she's going to be okay

poem (c) 2019 and photograph (c) 2018 D. Ohlandt

please only reprint in entirety and with credit given