since it's day whatever and words run from
me quicker than a gazelle runs from lions
in the Serengeti. no quick-wit rhyme
no way to describe the way the world is
off-center, tilting in the direction of evil
and prayer seems an exercise for the
foolish at heart (I've been called a fool
many a times, so I pray everyday. it's all
in the living)
or the way love overwhelms a moment
of utter disbelief and makes a believer
out of me all over again
maybe what I'm learning is that
words don't matter some days
at least not as much as
lilies and laughter or the way
my granddaughter tilts her head
as she watercolors my name on
a grid in cobalt blue and purple
on top of a upside down triangle
that looks like the watermelon
awaiting us in the refrigerator
she is reason enough to keep
getting out of bed, reason enough
to want the world to work,
for her to inherit a world better
than the one I am currently
leaving her, enough reason
to want to keep living so I can
keep working on this world
for her watercolors and piano
playing heart
maybe what I'm learning
is that the future needs
those of us with a past
to stay present, to show up
in force and on time
to do our part and then some
to write even when we don't
have words, to work even when
we don't have energy
to keep going because
there are watercolors
still being painted
by little girls
Valerie Bridgeman
© September 5, 2013
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