To my children

At home

The lights are out

You sleep soundly

Your little hearts peaceful

Your bright beautiful brains calm

 

No doubt weaving dreams of adventure like quilts in the night

Soaring on air through wide spaces and light

Your breath like warm breeze quiet and sweet

Your hands open, your fingers reach, touch things I can’t see

Your hair tumbling on pillows softly caress

Your voices at times rustle like a flowing dress

 

Yet you sleep on, safe, warm, cuddled snug in your beds

 

Where I left you, when I left, closed the door to our home

Stepped into the night and out of your space

Now I walk through bright hallways, not free as you are

Awake, in the nightmares that my patients live out

 

I am here, taking care of strangers

I sit on their beds as I sat on yours

I hold their hands, as I held yours

I listen to their stories, as I heard yours

 

I am here

In the light, in the chaos

Wishing I were with you

In the dark, in the peace

Warm and snuggled in your beds

With healthy hearts beating close to mine

And happy souls holding mine.