Lilies

For Daniel

You brought me lilies
And the wounded angry child
Let go her grip on the broken toy
She was holding as a weapon.
Could either of us have known
The potency
Of this medicine 
For a city girl running up 
Against walls of grief
In a small apartment 
On the morning after
Her father was diagnosed?
Could either of us have guessed
That this particular sweetness
Would be the balm the monster sought?
Suddenly calmed,
Docile as Ferdinand
Smelling flowers in the ring of bulls
Unable to fight,
Purely at peace –
Could it be this simple?
A secret well 
Arousing openness 
And trust
is borne
Of a single flower
and multiplied 
in an abundant bunch.
Thank you.
I was dangling above
A moat of tigers and crocodiles
On a rickety old seesaw
And your blessing unlocked
Willingness
And pivoted the scene
Allowing me to land
Readily, easily
Comfortably,
On safe ground
Again
In love.

— Judith-Kate Friedman