Stark among the lush of youth

tall, unashamed

no leaves twirl downward

no fertile blanket of rot

to feed saplings

fresh with green sprigs.

Many seasons

they have tasted your nourishment.

Do they regard your wisdom

whispered in the mountain breeze?

Do they believe tales told of

life on the hill,

of cycles of torrents, droughts,

penetrating frosts and mountains

of drifted snow?

Do they devour the lore

falling among the leaves?

the hand that reaches across oceans
does not sing a siren's lullaby
does not churn the sea to give birth,
for love makes no demands and spares
neither blossom nor rind
but feeds the magnetic heart
with the scent of ripened fruit,
bearing memory and unyielding pleasure
like a lotus that unfolds,
petal to petal,

only the wisest owl takes life into
consideration, leaves his perch and
flies away, homeless for the sky.

Oh, child
you brighten
the darkest
sky

oh, you have grown
intro a young man
that embraces
ecstacy

you took my demons
as you became home
to my wildest
dream

a tear of joy
falls on my pad
my dark thoughts
flee at your sight

son, this world
felt monotonous
until you smiled
and my worries
were on the first flight
out of my mind

when I almost lost you
I became useless
As the time hesitated

Fresh with ideas
Prudent with years
beyond her bloom of youth

Beautiful as nascent rose
she’s adorned with wisdom and grace

Enhanced with brashness
Sensitive with years
beyond his bloom of youth

Stunning as cordial rose
he’s adorned with empathy and charm

A nascent, cordial pair
Fresh, enhanced, discreet, complex, tangled with passion
Both beyond their bloom of youth

Beautiful, stunning as decorated duo rose
Together adorns wisdom, grace, empathy, and charm with their love