Haven

My earliest memory, your embrace assuring us

we were not alone,

your voice sunny with praise

for early efforts.

We perceived you as a haven,

a summer garden

perpetually in bloom,

sparkling under ever-blue skies -

until sirens

tore us from childhood,

forcing us to confront

the reality

of our separate selves,

and the basement seemed

to shrink as we realized

you could not halt the bombs.

But when the house collapsed,

we were not in it.

You gathered us like flowers

and laughed into our hair,

and we lingered in your arms,

reassured we were not

alone.