Easy

I remember bringing you home like it was yesterday,
then I blinked,
and you were a toddler,
running us ragged, questioning everything

I blinked again,
and you were a teenager,
spending too much time in your room,
stuck inside your feelings,
treading deep in the soft side of strong

then, I blinked again,
and now you are grown,
about to get your own place,
feeling your way around adulthood

I often find myself looking at you,
and when I do,
I see all of you,
all the versions of you that you’ve been;
I see glimpses of who you’ll be

and I need you to know –
it may not always have been easy,
but you need never apologize –
you’ve always been easy to love

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Forest

‘what happened to the forest?’, she asks,
and I tell her how I was never a sapling,
how the canopy was too dense for far too long,
that I now flourish in the splintering of old wood

but what I cannot tell her,
what my heart fractures to know,
is that I see some of my wicked splinters
were seedlings which now flourish in her

-image via Pixabay

(Re)Visit

I don’t visit often enough.
I tell myself it’s the distance,
work, time’s pull, insistent;
my schedule is rough.

But there’s unrest in my heart
that tells me that’s not true.
Instead of feeling closer to you,
seeing you only rips me apart.

Every time I see your face,
a little piece of me dies;
I feel the sadness you try to disguise,
the years of running a losing race.

I see too much –
I see how you might look on my face.

-image via Pixabay

Reformation

Your love required a cost
I was willing to pay
I spent and I spent
But you still walked away

Didn’t matter that you took me
Or let weekends slip by
Rarely called to check in
Or hugged me when I cried

I wanted a Daddy
Who actually stayed
Who was kind and truly cared
Didn’t throw me away

But you left and stayed gone
With not even a word
As if I had no worth
As if my love was no good

I searched to find you
Tracked you down through my brother
How did he know your whereabouts?
Did you know there was another?

Then you got sicker
Came back to our hometown
Expected me to forget
To always be around

And because of my M
Who’s helped pick up my pieces
Support as I slowly glued
And unfolded the creases

I opened my heart to you
I forgave the undoing
All the forgotten feelings
To see where we were going

Because of this man
Who taught me men who are strong
Hold your hand always
Even when you are wrong

They stay when they love you
They weather the storms
They keep you from tipping
And pick you up when you’re worn

Because of this man
Who protected, kept me safe
I could see it in you, too
The strength and love in your face

And, once again
I let hope overgrow
Was there by your side
Until your last breath did flow

I wouldn’t change that
Even though it broke my heart
I’m glad I began to know you
And we were able to re-start

I miss you 

-image via Pixabay, inspired by the Kelly Clarkson song Piece by Piece