To My Daughter

It is for me to remember the joy
in the news of having a girl. It is
for me to remember the sleepless
nights and constant worry.

I can still feel your newborn fingers
grasp my one, and the smell of fresh
milk on your breath or the feel of rocking
you in my arms to sleep….

It is for you to keep in your heart the
endless, lazy summer days of jump rope,
chocolate chip cookies with milk, and the
opened door of a house filled with love.

But remember if you can, the silver hair
of an angel, wrapped in the crocheted
blanket of autumn colors; for although I
am in the winter of my life, I look forward
to reincarnating in the spring time of heaven.

Where I can once again know the joys
of birth; yours and mine. I can once again
know the love of a parent, a husband and
again a child; and the river of life will have
made its way to the horizon.

TO MY DAUGHTER