You Won My Heart

For all the daughters and sons taken before we knew it; leaving holes in our hearts; leaving holes in our lives ~

I saw you before I knew you

My heart told me watch

You were fashioned perfect;

then you shattered and scattered into the world

to be reclaimed, one piece at a time.

You linger in hiding places;

in a gleeful game of having me seek.

You never stay put; you never use the same trick twice

Your nuance is crafty; but always the essences of telltale humor

You trick me, tease me, and encourage me

Masked as a stranger; a nostrum, a harlequin

You are anxious for me to unveil your masquerade

Even when your snares catch me unprepared

I remember the day we lost you; a freak storm whose violence

cut short your part in my comfortable world

For a long time, I half expected your knock at my door

It never came

The absence of you challenges our resolve to welcome joy

Mostly at night

You spoke in ways that enslaved me

Your earnest originality; your clarity, your affinity for the consummate truth of faith in others

I believed in you; I trusted my love,

Fortified, I discover more; to dare fear’s visit when the ultimate real snatched you from our familiarity

You went ahead, testing locked doors I could not fathom,

until the glory of you being gone

ushered in an unexpected vista

Some chase illusive dreams; others elusive butterflies

You taught me how

To release them.