Validation

Today they bend their aching bodies
To me, phantom arms
Held out in yearning supplication,
And I come to them to listen
And to give them back their voice.
We stand and sway together, pray together,
For each other and for everyman.

I caress them just as you did
When you gave them form and life.
And I hold them in my loving arms
To soothe them,
Smooth them with my hands like babies,
So they will not weep today.

As I turn to go, I look back at them in wonder
At their pale and timeless beauty
And they turn to look at me.
They tell me I am welcome
To keep their watch with them -
That my arms will be their arms
To hold those who need to heal
And the telling of the struggle
Held in their mute appeal.
I will write their story
For these brave and lonely souls,
For they are writing mine
In the shifting slates of time.

Victoria Braham Sarne