You sang a song of eternal sanctum br Beneath a sliver moon of hope renewed br I discerned your mother’s voice, as it passed br Like an Olympic torch, to your daughters, br In their first, unsteady hymns - br Sometimes, growing old, we begin to br Realize the painted walls that we adored br Are really those of exile br br Love is a freight train of possibility, br Interspersed with grain and granite dreams - br Churning full velocity, you can’t command br Its halt to avoid the rocks ahead br br With the seasons, we heap our mounds br Of expectation - sometimes pulling rip-cords - br Sometimes, emergency brakes, to find they are br Man-made and subject to human flaw - br You sang a song to overcome the br Emptiness of weeping echoes, br The caverns of hollow promise - those br Stalagmite daggers of damage wroughtbr br Kelly Vinalbr br