Three Dollar Words
A cradled newborn understands that birth
is the closest thing to perfection that she will ever consider,
that afterward life becomes a sort of listless degradation
until the deepest innocence is returned in death.
However Hannah's smile sang a different song
sweetly at first but then growing stronger.
Her melody mocked every one of my uncertainties,
each refrain echoing, "We shall remain forever faultless."
She once said, "If I could put my life down in prose,
where each sentence would be a reflection of reality,
I would isolate all of my fears and insecurities
and hide them behind three dollar words with several syllables."
No one ever told her that life would have limits
and even if they had, her promise and potential
would shatter every single one of them.
The only obvious boundary would be the clear blue sky.
Hannah sat quietly by herself for the rest of the afternoon
until I worked up the nerve to approach her again.
As soon as I found the words to speak I hesitated,
startled by perfection in the silence of her infant wisdom.
- December 2014 -
Photo by Giorgio Trovato
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