I remember
the walk along the sand
your toes
curling into the warm grains
pink against white
the water, blue and bluer
stretches all the way until tomorrow
and you
with your curls
your grin bright as the sun
collecting rocks
watching the tide turn
and I watched
and I thought
about who you are
and how you saved me.
I look at the pictures
and I see
you, and more
I feel
love and more
I feel the crazy dizziness of knowing
you are mine
I feel the sadness
the past brings forward, even in the best times
I think of her
my own mother
and wonder...
and then stop,
because it is pointless.
I remember the rocks you collected
piles like cairns all over the beach.
And I watched
as you wandered
your soul open to the world
your smile like a flower
blooming, blooming.
I sat, and I watched, and I knew you.
I let you teach me.
Your feet left such small prints there
on that beach
at that time
Washed away by the sea.
But I will never forget the imprint.
(header photo- St. Maarten, 2008)
