Early morning now, at the veranda...
Doing people-watching,
Thinking...just thinking the hours away.
The calendar is on its final page...
In a matter of hours, it is set to be changed...
A new year is coming in shortly, and I am
Wondering about the days gone by...
I sit comfortably
And my thoughts are set free...
Almost sets me dreaming
With you, rocking...
My hands, sidewards dropping...
But i see a line of several pairs of shoes,
Different sizes, different uses...
Five pairs of shoes remind me,
Of days when a baby's cry echoed,
Made its voice known,
Heard in the still of the night,
Up to the hours of the wee morning.
To and fro we went,
Up, down, down and up...
Until the baby fell into a deep sleep, and
You and i, slowed, then stopped...
Over and over
We went through the very same routines,
The years stretched on as i counted,
It was four more, to be exact...
Then came the time when
There were just the two of us left,
Swaying to and fro, slowly, slowly,
Up, down, down and up...
Always slowly, never too fast.
No, i wasn't asleep,
Just recalling,
How we had patiently, gently,
Cared and cradled
Those five baby girls to sleep...
Of different ages, all grown ups now...
Up and about, no longer wanting
To be swayed to sleep again...
Now, like birds that leave their nests
In the morning,
To live their lives in the light of day
Then fly back home before dark, weary,
Owners of these pairs of shoes,
Lined in a row, all in varying hues...
We both worked hard through the years,
I think it's time we thought of ourselves...
I say, you rock me now an hour of nonstop rest,
Then let me "rock the boat" for a while,
Turn you upside down,
Caress your arms and feet
With a soft cotton cloth and some lotion,
Make you shine like before, and free you
From those grains of dirt embedded,
To sharpen your sturdy undercurves,
So we may both have fun once more...
Rock ourselves slowly, smoothly,
Swaying endlessly,
Enjoying, rocking
Our remaining days together...
Sally
Copyright 2014
Rosalia Rosario A. Bayan
(---was watching street vendors selling fruits to my neighbors...poem came to mind as I saw my visiting son in law, falling asleep on our old rocking chair at the veranda...it reminded me of how each of my granddaughters, still babies then, were calmed and lulled to sleep on that old rocking chair, while I sang them lullabies---)