for Caroline Rosser and Maruska Tomassevich
i
simple love is
an infant’s pink smile––
the open grasp of the
learning hand.
outgrown shoes &
forgotten dolls.
the bicycle, the bruise,
the kiss that makes
all well.
the body that wakes
without prompting,
leaps without asking.
ii
the curious stranger in
the mirror;
the whispered discussions
in the dark.
how God created
the lily to shape a girl
like a flower.
iii
a string of white pearls.
a confident glance
in the mirror.
hands reach out
for the other
in the dark.
a wedding imagined;
the music begins.
iv
the garden of double happiness
inside the golden rings
where lovers can stroll
& freely dream––
a place to perfectly
relax the heart.