We glimpsed something else;
Blessings shaken from imperfect life –
Bruised, yet sweet, like fruit that fell 
from a blighted tree.

Together we were real 
As our hearts broke by all things
In between joy. I can’t give back 
The unspoken thought of love,
nor the kiss I held back
as I rushed from death.

I’m learning to fall from earth, hesitantly
I let go my grip on the precious, and the beautiful; 
the holding on to one daughter 
and then the other. I release my fear 
in the arms of the man I love, tremble 
with memory suspended in time. 

©2003 Susan Fridkin