A Moment In Time

Blue flowers bloom across the backyard
I'm standing four feet tall with my sneakers on.
I've known no other days like these
Of running through grass with scrapes on my knees.
You're standing watch on the porch with grandpa
As I swing and run in the space I call home.
The sun sits high in the sky, the blue as bright as my eyes.
I'm growing up here, you've seen it all;
From my very first step to my very first fall.
You've taught me more than my mother could.
Always there for me when a tear sat on my cheek.
We burned through the days baking,
The flour and icing clinging to my face,
And taking coffee breaks as I colored the pavement with chalk.
We picked flowers and made the garden burst into life
And I set the table for our dinners each night.
I was accustomed to your love and affection
But things would soon turn in another direction.
The morning you were falling apart,
I had no idea what was about to start.
They led you out on the stretcher at 8 AM that day,
As I cowered behind the couch in misery and dismay.
The fear trickled down my cheeks and swelled in my guts.
If I had known you'd be gone soon, I would have followed you out.
Now a goodbye looms in the air
I never got to tell you
I just can't move on.
When I see the house I spent so many years,
It takes me back to that time
When the backyard was my haven and you were alive.