Handprints

How many hand prints,
sticky and small,
have I washed from the TV,
the table and walls?

How many of these
do I wipe in a day,
from the countertops, mirror,
and windows away?

On curtains, the bathtub,
the fridge and the chair,
-there are little prints
stuck about everywhere!

Shall I not miss them
someday when they're gone?
To have clean furniture
that was once smeared upon?

Spotless windows,
dirt-less doors,
print-less, grime-less,
stick-less floors...

Or will I be lonely
when they've gone away,
because they're reminders
of sweet, joy-filled days?..

Of chocolatey kisses,
sloppy and sweet,
of rumple-curled hair
that can never stay neat.

Of mud-crusted arms
thrown around Mommy's neck,
of the day we ate watermelon
out on the deck.

Popsicle stained faces
from hot summer noons,
fingers and elbows
just dripping with juice!

Cereal-milk stains
from eating with spoons,
as we snuggle in blankets
watching cartoons...

Yes, I WILL miss those hand prints
when the kids have all grown,
but I won't be too sad,
You will see,

For preserved deep inside me,
in finger-paint art,
they have left little hand prints
all over my heart
and these I keep always with me,
with me,
these I keep always with me~

Copyright Jacquelyn Bytyqi 2012