Another year come and gone,
flew by like birds above;
behind cloaks of darkness-
Echoes of flapping wings; The
only evidence you were ever
actually close-
Memories impaled by shadows,
dance on the border trim of an aging
mind
Reminding, always reminding; it is now
...another lifetime ago

I've framed the multi-numbers of
mudpuddles and paint buckets;
Pony rides and sibling arguments-
Allowed them their space on the shelf
of labored love-
Needle pricked fingers, still sore from
ripped jeans; Lost buttons and
Halloween's spooky attire-
Ah, but my Son, those were just seams
of a now distant,
...lifetime ago

When I look in the misty eyes of a
young Mother,
I feel the need to embrace her worries;
Her unsettling breaths of a future
she has not the power to foresee;
I've the yearning to lighten her
burden; Lift the weight from her shoulders;
but yet I withdraw my reach, for I'd
not want to strip her, of her chance for
silver frames; mudpuddles and paint buckets;
That she will come to cherish today; and
...a lifetime ago