Just Us Two

It was just us two
On that hot summer day,
Our necks and shoulders pink
From bearing the weight of the sun.
The cold flecks of water
Tapping against our skin,
As we gleefully run through the spray
Gushing from the sprinklers
That dotted the back yard.

Your hair, pointed and dripping
Pregnant beads of water
Down your sun-kissed cheeks.
I remember the magic in your eyes,
My brother
And your popsicle-sticky grin,
When you told me we could fly
With enough belief in our hearts.

When standing on a fence post,
Outstretched arms and my face to the sky
I closed my eyes,
Leaned into the wind
And jumped heavenward.

And soar through those summers, we did.
On dreams and daylight,
And candied breezes.
Each day unlike the last,
Jubilant and adventuresome.
You were always enough for me to believe in.

Mother's Day

She sat alone in the quiet,
Dusky hospital room
Chilled by the sterile, fan-swept breeze
The perpetual beeping sound of a heart monitor
Piercing the otherwise heavy silence

Across the room was the life she had born
Seemingly a lifetime ago
In reality just yesterday
Suddenly and dreadfully taken from her

Torn from her womb in a moment
Her body
Betraying its purpose,
Prematurely
Releasing the treasure
It was obligated to create
And then…

The blistering cry
That absorbed the heavens,
Gripped her heart by the root
And confined it within its owner

Mother realized she would never
Be a whole person again,
Because the largest part of her
Now, remained detached

There she lay, purple and alien
So tiny
Undeveloped,
Helpless
Entirely alone.
Chilled by the sterile, fan-swept breeze
Seeking warmth radiating
From the electronic device
That held her life in its integrity

One beep at a time they both listened
And breathed
One beep at a time.

~Cami Krueger