the view from my window

 

today i saw the most peculiar sight

while looking out a window

a glimpse of how it might have been

if my dad had chosen not to go

 

the sunlight rested on their cheeks

as they talked about the weather

which flowers grow best in shade

and how the old phone line tethered

 

around the bough and through the trunk

of the old oak tree offering shade and silence

for the two to reminisce of life

laughter and where had all the time went

 

hidden behind the shelter of blinds

beneath valances hung of white lace

i paused to feel the warmth of my smile

and the tears that wet my face

 

and filled my eyes, i couldn't help but stare

for a moment, maybe two

i was only four years old

the last time my window held this view

 

the earth has journeyed around the sun

around the earth, the moon

many more travels and myriad phases

since that middle of summer afternoon

 

leaving behind photographs and memories

fading on the wind with wisteria and sage

the young girl hidden behind the veil

has grown and come of age

 

a tender woman of gentle strength now walks

where once a mere child had stood

my marrow runs through old haunted chapel walls

my bones give strength to ancient planks of wood

 

daily i take mine own heart from my chest

to mine own self i deliver the blade

protecting precious innocent hearts

refusing to repeat the choices my father made

 

indeed this lifetime may come to pass

though my existance this world may never know

the childhood wounds they'll never see

the views i've vanished from their window

 

 

~ janean christine mariani