Hollow at the Core

So swiftly you came,
So swiftly you disappeared.
We took you in our arms,
As you did us in yours,
And your love embraced us.

The mewling in the distance,
Was a captivating sound,
And the curious child had no choice,
But to discover its origin,
With grace and eager eyes.

You trotted across each soft blade,
Tail and ears perked up,
And the young girl scooped you up,
No tremble you gave, no protest you made,
No where but home.

A far cry from that girl I once was,
But no less affected by your love,
I trace the stone upon the earth,
With fingertips of longing,
And heart of callused pain.

Guilt may not have known you,
But it sometimes calls my name.
I should have kept you in that day,
Or gone with you outside.
If only I had known then.

I sometimes wake to tiny feet,
Stepping up to lie down by me,
And when it's blissfully dark,
I can trick myself into believing,
That it's you curled up beside me.

If time were of this world,
And not of water's nature,
You could know the true blessing,
You have been to our family,
And to me.

My smile belies my sorrow,
And the desolation of my being,
Though I find solace knowing,
That my angel, my best friend,
Rides the divine wings of freedom.