Before

She sits curled against me… this child who looks so much the woman… talking about snuggle time and how it used to be before… before she was supposed to be such an adult.

I savor the closeness… listening to her melody of words and memories… feeling the tug of my heart calling me to before… before I was supposed to be letting go.

She talks of the boy… reminiscing about how much simpler life was before… before her heart discovered the place where this boy fits and her soul can soar.

I hear the journey in her voice… from this moment of safety here in this place before… before she needed anything that I couldn’t give her… to this place of so much more than she imagined.

She lays her head on my shoulder… her warmth expanding to fill the empty places in the before… before the world became so big and unsettling.

I smile quietly… cherishing the moment… knowing that before… before will never be lost.