A poem by Susan Arcady Barich 2009
To Heidi with love, Mom
You are amazingly beautiful, my Daughter.
I don’t know that I have ever seen you so beautiful
or so happy.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you really smile.
I had forgotten you had dimples!
Long dimples that run up the side of your face
to Nani’s cheek bones
nestled just below sparkling blue eyes
and your Dad’s arched brows.
Blonde hair cascades from Mema’s
high forehead –
the one with the cowlick curl
that you share with your sister Wendi –
and frames your long neck to curve gently
onto the pale skin
above your breast.
So many years of grief.
The loss of love.
The death of your baby brother.
The treadmill of a seemingly aimless career.
But here,
as you lean confidently
into your love’s tall and strong body,
he, with joy in his face,
the thumb of his hand
hooked into the front pocket of his Levis,
both of you smiling at the camera
your arms holding one another’s backs
firmly, as if to say,
“I am here for you if you should fall.”
Here is a woman
in love.
