Amidst the brush and the birdsong,
The Franklins pecking at our front door
And the white nose starling perched in the tree
In the middle of the morning and
In the waning hours of the afternoon
In and around it all, we are here:
Mother, daughter, darling, father
The four of us cradled by moon song
And starlight.
A year ago we waited patiently
You came to us
Like the sun rising up from a sleepy sky
Light piercing through the mist
The whole horizon changing from
Pale blue to fiery orange,
Pinks and purples illuminating the sky
Wrapping us like honey and love.
You woke something ancient inside me;
Some old love, sparked by your gentle light.
When your sister arrived, amidst a rainstorm,
The whole world opened inside me,
A rainfall or avalanche,
My heart tumbling into my throat,
Landing between my ribs,
Flooding me, changing my life.
And now it has changed again.
Holding you in the morning light of those early days,
Both of us wrapped in the soft bubble of your new life,
I cradled you against my breast
Tears in my eyes, I told you I loved you, knowing
That this love would carry me home.
(For Maya on her first birthday.)