paper mango
Come, my dear
Let me listen to the
pitters and the patters
of your footsteps as your rapturous giggles sing to me
The lightness of the sound carrying through the wind
tickling my ears
Let me see your curling hair
as it drops on your shoulder and bounces heartily
as you run with no worry, with
not a single thing weighing you down
except for the frivolous bows you wear as an elegant headpiece
let me admire those white pearls in your mouth
as you grin endlessly, the smile swelling like the tide during a full moon
but then sinking into a frown
when I jokingly take your toys
I’m sorry, dear, here they are
Come, my dear
Can I see how beautiful you have become? Oh,
the airy giggles,
are now morphing into boisterous laughs,
like boulders lurching down the cliffs
that you used to be terrified of
The sound feels like a warm hug on a winter day,
strengthening me for the chills reeling outside
Your once playful curls
are now straightened out
And those lively bows have now morphed into
beautiful barrettes and braids
You are lovely
Come, my dear
Why are you crying?
Why do your tears fall down your face, ruining the bliss that’s supposed to
be captured within
The water that leaks from your eyes stirs poignant memories
of when you used to cry about frivolous things as a child
But now you shed tears profoundly, the childishness
butchered and hung up for me to yearn for it
Please stop,
the curls that have returned are getting stuck in your weeping eyes, and
the blubbering has left your wrinkled eyes red
Can we go back to the ages of
your light giggles?
Come my dear,
What is taking you so long?
Please, my love, put the walking cane down
and run to me like you used to do
Your once onyx hair has now
welcomed shades of gray
Your laugh doesn’t tumble like it used to
but you also don’t cry like you used to,
yet your beauty still stands strong
like a singular tree perched up amid a storm