Rebirth

Here you are
fluttering about my home
like a broken bird,

Hiding your grief
in pockets of shame,
pacing through the night, and
tossing in your sleep.

In daylight,
I watch you
follow a spider across the palm of a leaf,
gobble your lunch with trembling fingers,
and clutch my hand at the sound of every siren.

Those tears you hide,
pent up just behind your iris,
the ones that spill only when I am absent.

Child,
I want to wipe clean the wounds of war,
uncripple you from the sins of your brothers,
shake away the shadow of fear
that you carry like an inheritance.

Can it be?
Will you ever forget?
How long before
your heart can blaze with joy.

Tell me.
I’ve got an eternity.