I found a picture of you in my arms,

Sleeping securely, safe from harm,

As you knew it, anyway.

Your trust for me was complete,

You wanted for nothing

And thought of my love only

As often as a bird thinks of sky.

You didn’t yet know people

Can go away or even die.

 

I know how things changed,

But I can’t bear to think of it.

I picture you now, with your love

In your arms, and I hope she’s safe.

I hope she trusts your love

As you once trusted mine.

 

You are not a metaphor or

Object lesson. You are my flesh

And blood flowing into the world.

You are my love, my care, my concern

Passed on--after only a pause.

You are my loss, my hope,

My blessing and my nightmare.

 

When you come home,

Perhaps you will remember,

As you gaze upon me,

That I once taught you

The daily doings of devotion.

Perhaps you will remember the

Thread woven into the fabric of your life.

As your own cloth unravels,

You will learn what it is like

To be me.