That First Smile

It’s a little like a fire

That warms your tired bones

Or a newly lit candle

In a freshly cleaned home.

It’s like another life

Where I knew you once before

A waiting room of sorts

My future at the door.

It’s the arms of the sun

Pulling me in close

Bathing me in

Its afterglow.

It’s like settling in

And breathing out

An everyday moment

I now can’t be without.

The way your head feels

As it rests in my palm

The fuzz of your hair

The sound of our calm.

It’s the bloom of spring

And how it calls

The weeds as well

I’ll take it all.

It’s hope and strength

My reason why

The reason I smile

The reason I cry.

It’s invisible strings

When we’re apart

My feet will follow

The sound of my heart.

It’s your hand in mine

And how it sits

And when it grows

Will always fit.

It’s like knowing I have

All I need

To love, to heal

To grow, within me.

Like the blood in my veins

I know this is true

But I love, heal and grow

So much more with you.

It’s like the shore

Hugging the sand

Spilling itself

Onto foreign land.

But it’s not really foreign

Not anymore

It’s a memory that grounds me

With knees on the floor.

Like a story being told

Of something new

About a mother

and how she grew.

It’s a song I love

That I’ve not heard in a while

It’s impossible to describe

That very first smile.

(Words from 'My After All' poetry book)