Bray, February 16, 2025
(for Sylvia)
Precious: from the French,
meaning loved and treasured,
and thus quite the mot juste
for your presence in our lives.
Right from your august arrival
twelve short years ago today,
you’ve always been my hero,
full of fun but still tenaciously
fighting your embattled corner
against the unfairness of life,
with all its stupid demands
and its infuriating restraints.
You’re still fighting your corner
and what I most admire
is the passion, sometimes fury,
you evince at the many vagaries
and annoyances of your world
(parents, siblings, elders, friends),
while managing to be unfailingly
graceful and gracious, even when
forced to endure the idiocies of us all.
