She Stands With Open Hands

A life lived out, beginning to end.

She is all that is good,

She is water and sky,

and her smile is the sun.

Like a waterfall, she sings and she roars as she runs.

Her life is eternal and it's all a game,

the entire world is a toy.

There's a bruise on her knee and a rip in her dress,

but there's so much left to enjoy.

And she's perfect, she's pristine

On the very edge of everything

She stands with open hands

As she reaches, palms up, for your love

As she reaches, palms up, for your love

She rolls in on the wind,

like a rain cloud from nowhere,

and she leaves the same way.

When the breeze blows by, you can hear her cry out in vain.

She moves through the room with a hot summer heat

and you'd never know she was there.

She's got blistering feet from walking wrong roads

and tangles and grass in her hair.

She feels damaged, she feels damned

On the very edge of everything

She stands with open hands

As she reaches, palms up, for your love

As she reaches, palms up, for your love

She is sturdy like a tree

Rooted in her beliefs, and she knows just where she has been.

She has a world of her own that she'll protect from all manner of sin.

She is firm in her ways and you'll find her in church,

sitting in the very front pew.

She hangs on each word as she affirms her reformed point of view.

She knows the way, she knows the word

On the very edge of everything

She stands with open hands

As she reaches, palms up, for your love

As she reaches, palms up, for your love

The wind blows through her

like grass on a hill,

and her hair is a pile of snow.

Her breath is shallow, her voice is a whisper of love.

Her eyesight is fading, her body is frail

and she knows that she's starting to go.

She sighs as she patiently waits for the call from above.

She feels tired, but she's blessed

At the very end of everything

She stands with open hands

As she reaches, palms up, for your love

As she reaches, palms up, for your love

Author's Note

"She" represents certain women at certain points in their lives. Inspired by my daughter, my mother and myself. The last "She" isn't based on anyone in particular, but by the end of this poem, "She" definitely existed to me.

Reviews

[Ciara Di Salle]

It's amazing how you capture 3 different people so well and blend them into one gorgeous example of stages of life- well said