And finally like
A child that
Has gathered courage
I looked beneath
The bed peered
Into dark closets
And wandered through
The halls ready
To confront monsters
Finding none I
Burrowed back beneath
My covers victorious
At last knowing
That my monsters
Only ever existed
Wherever I was
And nowhere else
My dear boy
The heart’s a
Funny thing it
Chips and breaks
Like bone china
Yet still purposeful
But over time
Even it rebounds
After a long
Life of loving
What was once
Prized for its
Purity stands now
Like a cloisonné
Vase put back
Together and gilded
Stronger with gold
I awoke hopeful
Like beach going
Children at low
Tide looking for
Rich deposits of
Shells and seaglass
Peaceful like awakening
To an overnight
Silent snowfall fresh
And new blanketing
Old and brown
And loving like
That first delicate
Morning kiss as
You rolled over
Looking at me
Like the angels
Above in Heaven
And on this
First of November
We remember those
We have lost
Like the leaves
Of fall give
Way to winter’s
Snow we must
Remember that we
All are but
Reminders for those
To come blanketing
A cold world
Upon which for
Them they can
Walk on softly
Until like spring
Gives way to
Summer they blossom
And there last
Night and at
Long last you
Fluttered and pruned
Stepped cautiously out
Caught a wind
Of promise spread
Your wings dropped
Suddenly and took
Your eventual flight
Leaving me now
With but an
Empty nest and
The knowledge that
I’ve done my
Job giving to
This world my
Very own precious
And rare treasure
HARLAN DIDRICKSON 