Lioness

in that instant

after you
roared at me
and I forgot that I
was the adult
and roared
right back

after you
went away
to sulk while I
sat fuming

after all that

when you
came back to me,
eyes downcast,
and told
me in a voice
soft as
mouse fur
that I
had hurt your
feelings,
and
you missed the
way we
all used to
spend time
together

in
that
instant

my anger
washed away
in a great
sad flood

and a
torrent
of pride
that
you had such
bravery
to trust me
with your
hurt

darling, there are
met at arms
who will race
into a firestorm
before they
admit
such things

men who will
detonate
their own bodies
before such
words can issue
from their throats

if I believed in
Christmas Wishes,
I would grant
everyone
on Earth
the power to
speak
as you spoke,
to
hear
as I heard

and for
one instant
have the courage
of a ten year
old girl