peace available, ii

in sleep's moments your hands
find mine the vision is of rooms
with windows in time and curries
smoking the touch breaks open
matter as memory days as shell's
rippled surfaces this page
reloaded your breath on my face
we walk into another room
the window open the young girl
among the flowers sun still
friendly the motes poignant as
we walk comfortable on this shore
your dream my dream our daughter
now in a house of her own

This piece is about Kimberly and myself and our relationship to our daughter Piper. Piper is an AS child and her early childhood has not been at all easy. At the same time Piper is both brilliant and remarkably creative. She can hook different things together in that way that metaphor works and I have found that I learn from her every single day. While I would not wish Asperger's Syndrome on any child, we have worked at dealing with it and have found that Piper is herself both because of and despite the condition. This poem was originally written in 2006. I have learned a lot in the ensuing years. Mostly what I know about life is how grateful I am the Lady brought me together with Kimberly Britton. That is a miracle, something I could never have predicted or even guessed at. She is the most remarkable mother I have ever known. And the very best wife. I've not done that well in the relationship department, but then along came Kimberly. Like Nicholson in that one movie, she always makes me want to be a better man. And I am a better man, now, after these years with her. And I thank the Lady for our daughter, Piper. The greatest gift that life can give you is the opportunity to see the new person discover their self.