FAMILY (A Poem)

Family

Toothy baby smiles
refrigerator messages
convey magnetic declarations
of devotion

Stick figures dance
together on the crayon sky

and this will be the rest of your life
remembering the sound of laughter
closing your eyes against the pillow
playing these scenes over again
and again, slowing down the film
to get a closer look at the sunlight
on the smiling face
the big blue eyes

Soft, tiny fingers on your skin
slobbery kisses against your morning cheek
dream reports at the edge of dawn
warm hugs beneath the covers
cuddling arms that barely reach

and this will be the rest of our life
together, remembering
the sound of all this laughter
the off-key songs from the backseat
the words all wrong
and stories that always end the same

Hand in hand
we are a family
forever, together

and this is what it means
to be loved
and to love
with every breath

This is what it means

By Keith Giles
2/12/03