Tender Shoulders (standard:poetry, 161 words)
Author: Sarah	Added: Apr 02 2001	Views/Reads: 3836/5	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A poem about my youngest child, a girl, on the occasion of her older sister's wedding.

TENDER SHOULDERS 
For Lisa 


I stare at my daughter's shoulders 
Revealed as they are by the dress 
it's deep cranberry color emphasizing 
the porcelain quality of her skin 
and dramatizing the long auburn hair 

Tender shoulders of a 
vulnerable woman-child 

Matron-of-honor she stands 
somber and thoughtful 
waiting to present the wedding ring 
at the designated time in the service 
of her sister's wedding 

Tender shoulders of a 
vulnerable woman-child 

Conceal the independence and determination 
pushing her since childhood to prove 
"I can take care of myself" 
rushing headlong into life and love   
oblivious of the consequences 

Tender shoulders of a 
vulnerable woman-child 

Your beautiful vulnerable shoulders 
do not seem strong enough to carry 
the weight of responsibility you bear 
and my mother's heart longs 
to reach out and crush you to my breast 
to hold you in my arms 
as I did in the long-ago time 
of your childhood 
when I had the privilege and 
the power to keep you safe 


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