Sixty-three...
Sixty three days
you went missing.
Nine...
Nine weeks
a candle burned in your window.
The same window
you were taken from.
Petaluma, outraged and determined,
became a colony of ants.
Ground searches to mass mailings,
they never gave up hope
and soldiered on.
In a high-tech dragnet
you became the first internet child.
Your anxious mother
fretted over every detail
concerning you:
"I have a daughter out there--without shoes."
You would always be your parents
beloved little girl.
You were laid to rest
the day after the butterflies flew away,
migrating to a warmer climate
where they could play in safety
--the life we wish for all children.
Twenty-five...
Twenty-five years ago
you went away.
A remembrance
that is felt everyday.
For Polly Klaas (1981 - 1993)