"What's the Secret?" - A Poem -

In the garden where the twilight's dim light
makes the cherry blossom petals stand out,
Aya-chan, as always,
tells her secrets when she talks to Mommy.

"Hey, hey, Mommy."

Like a spring sprout reaching up,
she stretches as tall as she can,
and brings her tiny lips
close to Mommy's ear,
whispering like the wind.

Mindful of her surroundings,
like the sound of a butterfly's wings,
hushed and secretive,
with the quietness of spring rain.

"Uh-huh, uh-huh, I understand."

Mommy bends down,
tilts her head with a smile,
and listens.

When I can't quite hear her
and ask, "Can you say that again?"
Aya-chan pouts a little,
but like a spring breeze
swaying the tulips,
she repeats it in a whisper,
insisting with a "Hey, hey."

Mommy's sign for "I understand"
is always making an OK sign with her fingers.

Before I knew it,
time had run off with the wind
toward the horizon,
and Aya-chan is now a schoolgirl in uniform.

The secrets once told on Mommy's lap
have changed to those shared with a close friend,
laughing together, saying, "This is a secret, okay?"

Even so, Mommy's ear
still cannot forget
the "ticklishness"
of the breath from those secret whispers.

(This is a rewrite of a 2023 work)

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