Twelve Years

When you said it had been

twelve years

my disbelief covered me

in anxiety.

Had it really been that long?

Had that many years

passed between our lives?

It took me only a moment

to realize you were right.

So many of those years

I spent unknowingly 

lost in the cloud of my life.

My pursuits and ambitions

got the best of me

and pushed me 

to the edge of the canyon.

I had to learn to make peace

with life.

I had to learn to make peace

with myself.

I am a student

and always will.

When I look at the pictures

of the two of us

I feel as old as I look.

You look as though

a portrait of you hangs

hidden in an attic.

You told me 

you feel your age.

That when you smile

the crows feet appear

and I wonder how 

they ever tread 

upon your face.

You said your daughter

would be at home here-

the place we both grew up.

I could see you fully in her.

I know you're right.

I told you to come back.

Come back home

and let your daughter

reach her hand to the moon

and hold it with all her might.