Parallels – A Poem for Grandma Bernice

I see you in nature

In the wisdom of the trees
In the vastness of the snow
Equaling your love and charity
The song of every bird
Is the music that you make,
The needles on every pine

Symbolize the care that you take.

I see you in rosy flowers
In the tender touch of their blooms

In the softness of their petals
Your voice never could fill a room.
The nectar of each flower
Is your honeyed love of life
The heady fragrance emanating from them
Is your passion as a sister, daughter and wife.

I see you in the ocean
In the subdued greatness of the sand
From the eternity of the waves
To the most fallible shell you hold in your hand.

The brightness of the sun
Is your intelligence and spark
The welcome of your arms
Is a lighthouse beacon that shines through the dark.

I see you in me
In the crookedness of our smile
In our love for the written word
Although we haven’t seen each other for a while.
Our flame for discovering
the unknown

Is the thread that binds us forever
Grandmother and granddaughter, more similar than we know
But we’ll keep learning as long as we’re together.