Day 589

What have you found
in the rubble you’ve been
digging through?  Have you found
your grandfather’s smile — the one
that appeared only when you
or your cousins walked
into the house?  Have you found
your small brother’s
voice?  The songs
he’d sing when he lay
in his bed alone
in the early mornings?
Have you found your mother’s
hand, the hand she’d rest
on your forehead
when you had a fever,
when you’d had a difficult time
with a friend and she
wanted to soothe you?
What have you managed
to glean from all
that destruction?  All
that loss?  All those shards
of a life?  And who
have you become now,
who is digging?