Our oldest little girl just turned 38.
Once her beauty
took our breath away.
A rare gift
to be so lovely.
Alas the gift comes with
strings.
Some life-enhancing skills
failed to thrive.
Like speech.
Damn Aphasia.
She entered the world fighting
gravity--the fate of kiwi birds:
Rising above the ground
a forever struggle.
We tried to help her fly but
no matter how often she flailed
her hairy little wings, she could
not rise.
Not built for soaring
like seabirds.
And one day she burrowed
with another kiwi
and behold,
a baby boy.
A seabird.
Imagine.
The kiwis panicked.
Gravity again.
Too much gravity.
One waddled away
in his direction
and ours went
in another.
We do not know what
her days are like
and frankly
we do not want
to know.
The kicker is she’s quite content,
More than many highflying
seabirds we know,
including me.
What luck.
I never imagined
this outcome but
it deserves
some measure
of gratitude.
