In Tempest and serene you dwell
in my heart, and in my heart we are one like
chalk lines on a canvas, the curve of your shoulder
defines my arm and bosom.
I hold our unity before us, in us, of us,
the whole clear in each part
it is a hologram rendered in vivid chalk.
Soon bits of broken chalk and incandescence will
tumble and dance down the driveway toward the sea;
he, the vessel and engine of our hearts
will make known his delight.
Backpack askew our beloved son trudges begrudgingly
into his classroom, “Welcome, Second Graders!” in chalk
fills the chalkboard.
In time, I am gone, my clumsy frame enclosed in chalk;
you carry him without faltering into his actualization.
You meet and love his beloved, and in turn their child
and though I am not there and you may find new love
I am beside you, your lines still defining mine.