To Be Whole

Echoes like soft rose petals on sand
They sway gently with the wind of emotion
They linger there under the light of the sun and moon
They wait like faithful children
Waiting for their mother to return
Each one a fingerprint to my heart
Each one a chapter in my life
Together they stand as shards of a mirror
Reflecting light but can’t hold any of their own
together still only a fragment
in the dark they are fragile shadows
only to run and hide at any heart beat
that may pass by
afraid that they too will search their chest
and find no heart to call their own
they know they are not whole
and weep with anger and emptiness
they wear the face of their mother as a mask
one they peer into longingly
yearning to reunite with the source
they were cut off like broken legs
only their host still walks
cauterized from the core
without their mother ever knowing why
conceived in a seasoned soul
they were born out of the sad memories
and painful words
they were raised up wearing young eyes
painted up to look old
Every night they search for their mother

And their mother comes out beneath the moon
On the shores of the water
And calls to them
Beckoning them to come home
Her feet firmly planted into the sand
She gazes out to the black water
She catches a glimpse and tosses a rose
In memory of them all
The petals fall gently on the sand
I look down and I see them all around me.
To be whole