Not Enough

My heart is cracking
Breaking ~ shattered
By the knowledge
That I can’t unknow

The enemy has captured
One of my beloved
A child of my heart
But even so
The pain is as intense
As if I’d borne her

There is no treatment
They have no cure
There is no ransom
We can pay ~ this tragedy
Has struck at random

My prayers are all I have
(And my anger)
But so often as
I give control to
My higher power
So often do I try
To wrest it back again

I have so many memories
And she has fewer every day
We will have a
Period of happiness
And then the sly face
Of her abductor
Will emerge with
Taunts and hurtful
Words and even
Sometimes with hostility

I still catch glimpses
Of the person
I will always love
But she is lost to me
As if she lived in
Another country or
A different time

And there are not enough
Tears in the world
To wash away the pain

All Four Hands

You stand here before me ~
Your heart in your eyes ~
And your hat gripped in your
Honest work-scarred hands ~
And I don’t know what to say ~

I didn’t see this coming ~
However mature for your age
You may be ~ still
The years between us
Are no small matter ~

Yet there is my own heart
To take into account ~
It has been pulling me
In your direction ~ unawares ~
For some time now ~

And so I find myself ~
Blushing and confused
As an innocent young girl ~
I know I must take the time
To think things through ~

But if I would be honest too ~
I am inclined to think
We just may both get lucky ~
As we reach for happiness with
Both hearts and all four hands ~