The Breath We Share

Over the last few years I've been so grateful for every little thing but something changed. I started say that I'm grateful for every breath I take; for every step that I'm able to walk, because some people can't walk and someday I might not be able to.

I didn't realize that I was speaking for my son, I didn't even know.

He's unable to speak, and instead it came out of me.

My heart picked up the frequency of what he is feeling. I’m his voice in the silence.

I'm so grateful for every little thing about Daniel, the beautiful person he has always been. He gifts me with endless moments of perfection. Who knew that there could be so much perfection in someone many people see as imperfect.

The Breath We Share

They see a curve, a twist, a bend,

A "vise" that tries to reach the end.

They count the degrees, they scan the bone,

But they miss the light that I have known.

For in the quiet, in the "storm,"

In a body that has lost its form,

There is a rhythmic, sacred grace

A perfection in my son’s sweet face.

I spoke the words he could not say,

"I’m grateful for this breath, this day."

Not knowing then, through love’s deep reach,

I am the vessel for his speech.

Who knew that in a fragile frame,

Such holy, golden beauty came?

That in the struggle to just be,

Was a lesson in eternity.

Every step and every sigh,

A miracle beneath the sky.

For what the world calls "imperfect" soul,

Is the very thing that makes us whole.

So let the doctors see the chart,

While I hold tight to Daniel’s heart.

For gratitude is the strongest rod,

Holding him close to the breath of God.