Sunrise

Sunrise
Sunrise on Sunset Beach

Sunday, January 9, 2011

To My Two Year Old Daughter, a Quarter Century Later












Memorial Park, Athens, Georgia
October 30, 2010

I wandered through Bear Hollow
       with you once again
              bouncing lightly on my shoulder
       sharing fresh Saturday memories
                     under blue crystal sky
                     and golden yellow sun
              in a time gone by.

You delight today
       in the open possum playscape
              with pale coat female
       and her homely prehensile tail,
                     licking peanut butter from the perch
                     and gently grooming
              her dainty pink nose.
       You watch, intent

       and I hold your tiny hand
              tight against the decades
                     that press, inexorable
              blurring memory,
                            softening vivid presence.

                            Yet my breath still catches
                     when I recall
       a quarter century hence
              your wispy blond curls
                     framing the face of delight itself
                            as you laugh
                     and your spirit shines

                     through other eyes today -
              though differing in hue and homeland,
                            they share the same sparkle.
And I am gray presence, passive
              witness to their wonder
                     which they will carry
                            into unknown worlds
              that you will build together
                     from the hopes and embers
       we leave behind.



2 comments:

  1. Beautiful - a true Father's love for his daughter. Our daughters grow up too fast for us.

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  2. I still remember the possum we found in the trash bin (another day). Surprised little creature! I'm grateful for your and mama's kindness to and interest in animals, which I'm sure you fostered in me.

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