INNOCENT AWAITING

Those lonely eyes,

Dark with pain,

Gaze steadily at the door.

 

Each sound,

Each footfall, brings intensity

To their innocent awaiting.

 

The sound dies in the imagination,

The footfalls move on

And fade away.

 

The expectant eyes

Drop in disappointment,

And with them drop, two large tears.

One dimpled hand

Wipes them away

From two chubby little cheeks.

 

A rosebud mouth quivers,

The eyes grow misty

And look away.

 

The trembling voice

Of a childish heart calls out in agony,

“Are you really dead, my father