for DDK

the way He moves your heart
and captivates your soul,
the way you allow for the breaking
open, make room for sorrow and
oceans, exhilaration and flight,
all in a single breath or string
of melody and glimmering eye;

the way you are both young and old,
innocent and wise, daring yet careful
to jump too soon or too wide or too
carelessly reckless like most of us
do when the world all around us is
so fast we fail to see the small
things that make it beautiful;

you see these details, the small
lovely things, have a keenness to
collect what should be saved, to
gather what should be held close
like wandering orphans looking
for a home, a nest, a resting place
so they can remember to dream again

and when I witness all the hope you
carry like a carved ivory cross that is
beautiful because of its worn edges
from where you have held and gripped
it in your heart’s quiet intensity, my
will rises up to fight too for these dreams,
these lovely things held in your hand

*re-posting this poem for a friend, as a reminder of the things we did at first