Finally I See

I didn’t see her in the glory days,

Eyes blue as her powdered make-up,

Cheeks blushed with first love,

Sights set on the stars.

I missed her in her creamy bridal gown,

Cinderella playing at love,

Pouring out her essence

through the palms of her man.

I almost glimpsed her in that hospital room,

Sweat-soaked hair against the pillows,

Agony and pride in her puffy face,

Lost in the blood-soaked wonder of creation.

How often she seemed invisible,

In the throngs at the schoolyard gate,

One mum blending into the next,

Where small talk was all she had.

Or in the supermarket,

Glazed expression as she scanned the shelves,

Baby balanced upon one hip,

Diminished by the drudgery of daily chores.

So when I finally found her,

It took us both by surprise.

Middle-aged, her beauty faded,

Greying hair no longer dyed.

No disguise, no apologies.

Confidence in every hard-earned

Wrinkle and belly roll.

Age becomes her.

I see her true self.

The woman grown from dream to fruition,

Standing tall, not despite her sorrows

But because of them.

I drink her in, and find it refreshing

How all those little things

That once seemed so important

No longer matter.

Just love.

Self-love,

Hard won.

The greatest love of all.