Places in Time

Child 1

Child, beautiful child,
With dimpled cheek
   Or teary eye,
With fairy smile
   Or hungry cry,
You touch my heart
With happiness.

Child 2

Her tiny hand reaches up
To touch my fingers,
A little flame of warmth
Chasing the chill.
Her sparkling blue eyes
Lift up towards mine,
A powerful light
To brighten the day.
Her crinkly smile flickers,
Touches my heart,
A tender reminder. 

Youth

He strides through
	In angry cadence,
Glancing, slyly, to see
	If I am watching.
I am watching
	So he retreats,
Arrogantly, defiantly, to see
	If I will ask.
I do ask -
He has no answer
	For reasons yet beyond him,
	But close,
For as he goes,
	He meets my eyes,
	Touches my hand - lightly -
Trying to make that step
	From child to adult,
Strengthening the tie that
	Has bound us since his birth,
My son and I -
	Friends then, friends still,
	Friends at last.

I Am Old Now

I am old now - unbelieveable
That soon I will be history
When it seems but a second
Since I began
My journey.
I am old now - unbelieveable
That my body has aged
So much more quickly
Than my Spirit
Than my mind.
I am old now - unbelieveable
That so many friends have gone
Leaving me to wonder who
Will share the rest of
	All I have to share.

Time

Time is slipping away,
	Gathering pieces of myself
	As it careens by.
		Life

I see in its strong grip
	Fragments of my youth
	Floating in hazy clouds.
		Memory

I see its firm clasp in
	Mirrors reflecting the images
	Of an ever changing face.
		Transition

I hear in its clear music
	Ideals born and lived
	Fading with the evening.
		Decrescendo

I see my own surprise
	Wonder who I am, where
	I’ve been, who I’ll be.
		Definition

I feel in its warm embrace
	The lure, the dream of peace
	For everyone, for me.
		Acceptance.

I acknowledge with its passing
	The pleasure of a life
	The transformation of a soul.
		Destiny.