John Biscello

She keeps strict vigil

over Childhood in action,

every fragrance

and nuance,

every lost tooth

and blown-out birthday candle,

every romp in the grass

and Goliath slain,

she keeps conscious watch,

so later, when the box

and the dark come to claim her

as a casualty of Time’s passage,

she will remember,

to the last detail,

the adoring little girl

that made her real.