by Cecily Lew

And I lay there and listened
That easy kind of listening
Like when you read to us each night
Those cool summer nights
The wind slapped our blinds against the window
And we shivered under our blankets
But it was never too cold for ice-cream
And so the blinds tapped to the beat of your story-telling voice
When your words are smooth
And you get louder or softer at all the right parts
And when our bowls were empty
We fought fluttering eyelids
And swore we were still awake
To hear how Bilbo escaped the dragon
How Aslan was resurrected
How the Goose Girl spoke to animals
Or how the ogre got her prince
And there were other nights too
When it was clearly time for bed
But you let me add just one more log to the dying fire
And you sat down to play piano
Sometimes I sat with you to sing along
But other times I’d lay by the flames
Watching your expert fingers glide off the keys
That is where your hands were most at home
Trained to feel out every note
Weaving a blanket of harmony
Covering us both