We sit and watch...

we sit and watch…

We sit and watch

quietly -

the evening pass

leaves blow

sunset lingers, wanes

our daughter stumbles

into the wet backyard.

a light mist is falling –

in wonder

we observe

the quick steps to the broken bird bath

to get her tiny hands moist -

the same steps she takes daily.

you worry about the bowl falling

and I surround the first bath

with wire fencing.

the second bath,

a beat up ceramic base

and concrete top

mismatched

but oddly beautiful,

still stands naked, solitary.

Moisture in the sky

as in my eyes at just

the simplicity, the beauty here

in this moment.

I learn to appreciate

the snapshots taken

these days

when during previous years, hours

I would have been off

on some exotic location.

You are radiant

in your motherhood

wrapped in every gesture.

our daughter is ferocious

in her determination

and so fortunate.

she is a river of affection

filling you daily with pleasure.

And your generous heart –

sends that eternal flow back to her refreshed

like blood circulating through

a beating heart.

You are a silver ribbon tied around

the perfect small package

together you are floating down the Ganges.

Blessed woman

adrift in a swell of love

the earth drinks up your occasional tears

and I this lucky man listen

to the laughter of the two of you

as you eat

cherrios in bed

and I hear

the incessant optimism

of the woman I dearly love

teach our daughter,

this “love bug” of nineteen

exquisite months.

O the poetry of love – it is two.

The two of us – and the two of you

makes three – the perfect family.

Doug Claybourne - A Suite Of Poems for L.D. 05.13

Copyright © Doug Claybourne 2013 All Rights Reserved.