As this year ends
I'm patting down each day
Shining a light on darkened corners
How much do we have left to give?
It started with a car accident
It didn't end with your father's death
When you press her hands to your lips
Hold her tight even when she wants to pull away
You need her today
When you save each scrap of paper he ever touched with a pen
Every meaningless thing you now find meaning in
The way he wrote his "R"s in your name
The way you both watched baseball the same way
Hopeful even when you're down late in the game
It's an instinct to hold still when you feel the eyes of something predatory passing over you
Let's take our daughter and spend the rest of this year with our hands held tight
And her in between us not moving an inch