Natalie Rose
        by Sarah Elizabeth Hume


    You were born in the month of crystal,
    painted with cream and the essence of rose.
    Your eyes were set in faceted diamonds
    that reflected the light of a clear, cold, sky.
    
    And when they put you into my arms
    you were my little mystery,
    woven from the cloth of ancient place
    where only my spirit had ventured 
    and my memory could not recollect.

    And when my finger was grasped 
    in your tiny, delicately lined palm,
    I saw the earth flash before my eyes
    and Eden appeared.
    My old cotton gown had become Asian silk
    for I had found heaven in you.
    My precious one,
    My daughter,
    My Natalie Rose.

    The pain itself was a gift
    for they appear in many faces.
    But yours is the fairest that I have witnessed
    and always it shall be,
    my blessed angel without wings
    who traded them in to be my child.

     Love always,
           mommy