January 31, 2017

Hydrangea

My child collects silk flower petals
Carries them in his small chubby hands
Places them in my palms
And gasps as he watches me blow them away.

Frantically, he gathers and carries,
Watching for a chance
To use what he holds.

Today I saw him
Find a chip in the paint of a wounded wall
He pressed the petals to it with expectation

And I saw a world where
We carry hope
And press it into the cracks of damaged hearts
Until all we see
Is a home
Made of blooming life

“Ima” (The Prodigal’s Mother)

 Birth is the only jubilant end To one life being shared with another. Not so joyous is the letting go that comes after. No one told me what...