Be Still, My Heart

Be still, my heart,

like the glassy waters at dawn

that take on the colors of first light

as eagerly as water takes on the hue

of paint still clinging to the sable bristles

when a color change is called for.

"First Light" © 2010 Meri Arnett-Kremian

Whisper to me what it is you want,

what things I have to learn

that I have turned away from.

I am ready now to heed your murmurs

if only you'll share secrets with me

like a second grader named Ellie

would share her lunch

with her best friend forever,

a little curly-haired moppet

with freckles sprinkled

across her nose like wildflowers,

whose blue eyes dance like

skipping stones across the placid waters,

a girl named Chloe

whose turquoise insulated bag

with matching thermos full of soup

was left behind on the kitchen counter

in her scramble to run for the bus,

because after all, Ellie knows as do I

that snickerdoodles taste best when

your mouth is full of laughter

and your heart has important things to say.