With me, Rachel Simon

With me
by Rachel Simon

I always feel you
Every minute of everyday
You’re with me somehow
Every time, a different way

One day you’re an insect
The next, the wind blowing through my hair
Or the fragrant bloom of a gardenia
Sometimes a reflection in my glassware

The flame of a candle nearby lit
A speck of color in daddy’s eye
The cheekiness of our puppy, Bear
A hot, lazy day in mid-July

A rainbow from the hose spray
A ripe tomato in a friend’s garden
A wave under daddy’s surfboard
My healing clay rocks as they harden

I’m able to see you now
Your presence- in a different light
Not only sadness and loss
Now you can bring more delight

And it’s no longer only me
Bringing you into all facets of life
Now your existence is self-sustaining
Present, omnipotent and rife

These frequent reminders of you
Whether au natural or gifted
My once too-dim outlook on life
An iota more, they have lifted

:::

about the poet.
Rachel Simon lost her daughter Shiloh to an umbilical cord accident in October 2008. She created a website in memory of Shiloh: In Memory of our Daughter, and maintains a blog called Our Healing Journey.