Son Light

Sunlight tenderly caresses

the edges of your form,

silhouetting

your supreme innocence

against grass, tree,

pavement, sky,

ocean, highway.

Could that resplendent

and terrible world

you've begun to explore

corrupt or dampen

the sublime sight before me?

Lore we

have compiled

during our burgeoning

modernity

suggests that one day,

your wonder must wither.

Your mother's and mine, obliterated

over time,

we began to rebuild

when we saw you.

I draw you closer,

huddled near the flame —

Summer came

and went, as if ashamed

of herself this year.

But as I feel

your tiny heart beating,

I am assured —

the world

has never known such warmth

as this.

The song in you,

though still building

its opening measures,

is so dear a treasure

that your audience

has already commenced

crowding the concert hall.

We've taken our seats,

enthralled

by the symphony

of your growth.

It is no small

thing, this oath

of parenthood.

Let this be my testimony:

my child, alone, he

could calm the thunder

beneath the mountains.

And that wonder?

The magic of his youth?

That,

I will defend

with my very life.

Son, Light, you are loved.