An amused glint
in her daddy’s eye,
the sun catching highlights
in wavy, brown hair
as the little daughter rubbed
his kiss off her cheek,
a last joke between them now.
His touch —
stroke of life warming,
a golden beam
slipping between her fingers
like fairy dust
sparkling on the descent to earth
captured here
an ache over the heart,
fleshed out into spring green
as beams of sunshine
strike the grass
making a lush carpet of peridot
and emerald
returning her to the essence of being wrapped
in the gestures of his love,
a bright sprite and her Oberon.
Honorable Mention, Vermont Poetry Society
