A reunion issued by generations passed,
Still thriving on love and sweet memories.
Some gatherers are graced by graying hair,
while others sport crowns of silver—
the adornments I desire in my youth.
children pass back and forth,
tidings from the new generation.
A peal of thunder,
and disaster strikes in the form of rain—
torrential to say the least
itching the less joyful of troopers.
Those closest to me laugh notwithstanding,
a cadence resembling the rain.
Huddled together to keep warm in the flood,
smoke blown in from the marshmallow fire
I notice the eldest member of our hearty clan
dressed for sunshine in a flowered dress—
a yellow cardigan wrapped delicately around her tiny frame.
Eighty-six years of this life
her birthday near this day.
She sits slightly cushioned on a painted red bench
smiling and eating her cake.
Then the simplest gesture of kindness is given,
and a lump finds its way to my throat.
Her cousin, a man, in a shirt of bright hue,
pulls an umbrella off the table beside her.
he opens it there, and stands to her side
guarding her from the cold, melting drops.
There he stays
watching her closely
with a faint smile thinking not of himself.
How deeply this touches me—
the selflessness of him who has seen many days.
Love wells up in my heart, as I start to shiver.
I want to act likewise, someday.