human beings fail
in so many ways
but you have never
left me.
you freckled my smile
at ten years old--
oh, the eternal,
summer days.
and you giggled
and shyed away,
ending days of scorching
teenage love.
here you are still--
weathering my face--
welcomed on the skin
on the back of my neck.
and you shall continue to rise,
lifting that heavy head into the sky;
Shine. for my children.
and my children's children.
