For Laura

As a mother filled with pride

I wanted to write a love poem for you.

A poem filled with all the niceties

Listing all of your wonderful virtues.

A sugary poem, the drug store kind,

In which I tout how lucky I am,

And talk of syrupy love between us.

Well, anyway, that was the plan.

But like an actor forgetting his lines,

This poem had several false starts.

For often, as I tried to write the words

I just crumbled and fell apart.

I intended this to be only about you:

The love you have for your brother,

Ang mahalagang* daughter to Tay and me,

That you’ve become an amazing mother.

Still, in spite of many revisions

This poem seems more about me.

With feelings for you being so intense

I cringe thinking of setting them free.

Yet leaving the words unspoken

Is like a butterfly cupped in my hands.

Denied freedom and adoration,

Struggling to get out, to softly land.

My emotions expressed in words

Feel as delicate as a snowflake;

And like watching bubbles float,

I hold my breath, so they won’t break.

I hope in this poem you will find

A feeling of comfort and serenity,

And know just how very precious,

What a treasure you are to me.

Naida Lavon

Jan. 21, 2010

*Ang mahalagang = A precious