Roots

I've been chasing feelings
lost but for the briefest meetings
long parted love for life
abandoned wonder, weeping at the sight of willow blossoms in the wind

I've been chasing that one touch
that showed me that I am small
in the ways of the world I'm small
but loved
in the touch of the sun
the breeze cool on my tears
the salty sea on my wounds
the tickling grass under my weary back

I’ve lost count of the ways the puzzle loves its smallest piece
but in this new place
where the air has barely cupped my cheeks in her soft palms
I'll be glad to tick off the ways on my fingers and toes
and let this new world caress away my woes
as it has since I was a child

going to the willow tree to cry in peace
to feel the wind and blossoms wipe my cheeks
She's half the world away
long dead in a forgotten homeland
but her roots lay in the same ground as mine and she reaches through the world
still wiping away a boys tears