VELDMAN, Vick
(to our daughter)
What matters
Small things remain:
the quiet peace of rustling poplars,
the yellow of buttercups and grass growing green,
the smell of wood after a vernal shower,
a smile, a blush on girlish cheeks,
the warmth of your name,
a child’s hand at the window,
the tear making clear:
“I’ll be there.”