You Hold Me

I hear your heartbeat as mine begins

A warm, safe harbor my soul found in you

A new being growing

And you hold me

The lights are bright, the air is cold

They wrap me in a blanket

I open my new eyes and see your lovely face

And you hold me

Joy courses through my limbs

The world holds wonders for a little girl

In the afternoons you read me stories

And you hold me

Each morning I leave you to go to school

I am shy and unsure

Sometimes I come home with tears in my eyes

And you hold me

I question everything

I am no longer a little child

School and boys and trying to fit in…sometimes I get angry

And you hold me

I show you the ring on my finger

The smile on my face says it all

The smile on your face is an answer

And you hold me

I become a mother on a crisp November night

I am happy and tired and perplexed

In your arms you hold my baby, in your sea-blue eyes I see

That you hold me

My life is not exactly what I had planned for

My heart breaks as I confide in you

Although you are miles away, in your heart I know

That you hold me

In every season of sorrow

In every moment of joy

My loyal, constant, abiding friend and mother

You hold me

- Denise Cooper Smith -