Still Life with Hands

In the photograph, the child sleeps
enfolded in grandmotherly arms.
Weathered hands and fledgling fingers
reposed from patty cakes and pages
he is learning to turn. Hands, eager
to clap and drum, navigate a spoon.

Hands she will teach
to pluck dandelions
steer shovels, craft castles.
At rest, for the moment
from her well-worn past
refueling for his unlined future
still, in their peaceful present.

Bio: Sue De Kelver and her husband, Bob, live five miles outside Brussels where they cultivate organic vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs. In her spare time, she writes the occasional poem.