I shall decorate the tree
of remembrance with poems.
A poem for each person I ever loved.
For each face that shared its kindness
with me.
For every child that laughed in my presence
and gave me an everlasting bell.
The women that roused in me
the seminal song of deliverance.
The people that filled my house
with quiet conversation and broke bread.
The walls still hold the fragrance
of our dinners,
the sound of voices mixing in the air.
I will put a poem on each branch
of the tree with its owner’s name.
With the heartfelt love I felt
as I wrote the name, and say,
you lit the hills of my life,
knocked on my door like a toll
for happiness to come in,
I treasure your life.
I have looked in my heart
to find you,
know your truth.
How your soul opens in the morning,
and your life begins
and shines in mine.
A tree of time and avenues,
mirrors and toys.
Touching.
Covered by poems you put inside me.
Released like birds
when I think of you,
perched on the tree of remembrance.