[mignon ledgard]

A Daughter’s Touch

Stones in her back patio
sit around blue water
that lights up at night.

I should say boulders,
in honor. Solid, stately,
smooth enough to caress.

They look like animals
—sea lions, perhaps.
Big ones, small ones,

serene. Meditations
from the desert,
at home in the tropics.

Close, but not mingling,
terracotta vessels stand
on sand-color slabs;

silent soul-huggers,
they gather in pairs
and gracefully wait

for a promise of plants.
My daughter lulls them
with her green eyes.

~ml