It was a teaching

and I have learned

Phasing ©Shannon Mastromonico 2020

I remember everything
especially the times you held space
when no one else would
The way you showed me that it is okay
to accidentally break things
or to spill milk
When you gave me a home
The way you cheered
when I sang
I remember you with my friends
and how they thought you were the coolest

This is a blanket
with frayed silk edges and it covers
any mixed-up words
or mixed-up worlds
between us, through the years
and there were many

It was a teaching
and I have learned

We were daughters and brothers once
in other lives. In this one
you weren’t what I called you

There is no word
for someone who shapes
the person you are