We clutch those we love in our hands
for fear if we hold them too lightly
we might drop them and they may break
And if we love them too strongly
our fragile hearts will shatter to pieces
should they go away
So we move forward in fear of loving
in fear of losing
Until our hearts know not
how to be present
in moments of Love
in moments of Life
We hold our breath
as to prepare ourselves for what’s to come
And we forget the feeling
of the exhalation
that comes
with the sight of golden hues
When the sun sets upon the mountains
Or when the sun rises
and casts its glistening warmth upon us
Instead we hide in the shadows
The darkness
As not to bear the feeling
of the sun fading away to black
We grip this precious life in our hands
knowing it is fleeting
Until our fingers turn numb
and we know not how to feel at all
May we begin to loosen our grip
May we hold the ones we love softly
with tenderness and faith
That love never dies
and life never leaves
That they live on and remain
In the spaces between
the sorrow
In a tender kiss
A warm embrace
The smell of dew
The scent of a new day
These moments of love
These moments of life
Forever fleeting
But always remaining
~Shawnee Thornton Hardy