Laura balanced on a stool beneath the skylight, the sun's warm pressure on her back. "Am I okay?" she asked her father.
"You'll do." He winked at her over the easel.
Downstairs, the front doo
... [+]
The "I love you"s before you go,
The phone calls that you're heading home,
The not-going-to-bed-alone,
The dog between us on our laps,
The putting-down-the-kids-for-naps,
"How was your day?" and "How'd you sleep?"
And "Is there anything to eat?"
And, when we see that something's wrong,
The "Tell me, please, what going on."
Support, in times of ailing health,
Or bills up-piling on the shelf,
Support, as children change and grow,
Or as we binge that Netflix show,
Support, in all small joys and chores,
Makes you still mine, and me still yours.