A loaf of bread
Baked fresh
Just an
Hour past
Sea salt and
Rosemary
All mixed
Into the
Dough

A stack of
Paper
Each of the
Sixteen sheets
I made yesterday
Under the light of
The Half Moon
I used rosemary
And amber
To give it scent
Almond paste
And rose petals
For texture
Fuchsia
For color

A quill
Plucked from
The wing of a
Cawing raven
The feather’s point sharp
Its neck strong
And the smooth
Body
As black as
Night’s whisper

These are
My hidden treasures
And gifts to you
The bread will fill
Your stomach
While the paper
Drinks the ink
From that quill
Held steady in
Your hand

Use these sixteen sheets
Of rosemary and
Amber scented
Paper
To keep alive
Your sixteen years
On this Earth

Worry not of
The years after
For you will
Learn the ways
Of creating paper
The sea salt
From the loaf
The light of the
Half Moon
And the cawing
Song of the raven
Will teach you

Most important
I bid you
Take these gifts
And embrace them
With a smile
A single tear
I allow  
No more

Accept that I
Have sunk to the depths
Of this sea
With the coral
And shrimp
To keep me
Company

I have lived
A grand life
With laughter and sobs
Kisses and bites
The likes
Of good
And bad
It was my time
To go
And my time
To discover

Satisfy your hunger
Fill the sixteen sheets
With your stories
And give ink to
The quill’s thirst

I bid you smile
And shed a
Single tear
I allow
No more