My Last Gift to Give
My little girl
My tender child of smiles
My first dream as a mother
My last gift to give before leaving
I’ve been whispering to you lately
Have you heard?
I’m just on the other side
dancing with your Daddy
Just on the other side
like our home on High Street
Can you feel our feet
pressing on old floorboards?
Do you know the songs
pouring under the door?
Can you hear our laughter
lifting through the walls?
Just on the other side
…
I’ve not forgotten what this day brings
and you look so pretty
How many candles?
Too many for counting?
Don't be silly
Let us say five this time
five is such a lovely number
Alright
we will blow them out together
and don’t be silly
…
It seems now
that the weaker trees are showing early color
and the lilies have all bowed
to the chicory
The macintosh are sweet
crisp for the picking and the baking
and our gardens are grown heavy
and will soon be calling for the table
In all this abundance
I know of the emptiness
of all the impossible tomorrows
So many days misplaced
So much we couldn’t share together
And also
the simple grace
of what remains
in yesterday
and the quiet joy of remembrance
…
There is a favorite picture of us
one I’m sure your father took
The unsettled nature of the waves
the shadowed rocks below
I held you so close Lorna
so endlessly close
Most don’t understand
the real truth of a photograph
The enchanted alchemy
that fixes a spirit
that holds the soul
and waits for the girl who cares
And you have cared enough for us both
There is nothing more than this
My little girl
My tender child of smiles
My first dream as a mother
My last gift to give before leaving
I’ve been whispering to you lately
Have you heard?