Tenderness

(For W)

I gently lift you and admire you
You look back and seem to want to say…
So many things I never tried for.
I look at you and think and pray.

I wonder if the future’s laughing,
At this dumber version of myself.
If I can only get to know you,
Know you just a little more…

You teach me as you let me fail,
My failing seems to teach my core.
And your arms are always stretched wide open,
As if to say: ‘come see me more’.

Sometimes I struggle to embrace you,
And often, I forget your smile.
But when I see your lettered pages,
Your tenderness wins by a mile.

Photo by Tamara Velazquez at Pexels