Desiree by Margaret V. Doran

Desiree

Margaret V.Doran

Child of the dust, child of the mist
child of the wind and air
child of hopes, child of dreams
child with sable hair

Child of the dawn and child of the night
child of all these things
who were you, small and beautiful child
and are you gone now to ancient kings?

Born to love and a mother's arms
born to death too young
born to laugh for three short years
before your song was done

And as you lay beneath my touch
your heart then beating true
gone were your thoughts, gone your soul
those things that made you, you

Oh where did you come from, silent child
and why did you come to me
since I could not release you from death that day
I could not set you free

And where have you gone, child of smoke
out of your house of clay
have you taken your laughter and taken your smiles
up to heaven to play?

And where do I look and where do I find
the grief that should be there
have I robbed you of something that should be yours?
No, the grief is your mother's to bear.

Sadness is all that I really feel
for the child you will never be
but because I was there as your life ebbed away
you'll always be part of me

For one endless hour of your too-short life
you touched me to the core
and left a small ache which will not go away
yet I turned and walked out the door

Child of the moonbeams, child of the clouds
child now of the sky
child of ethereal visions unseen
your memory will never die.

(Desiree died in 1991 when she suffered a bizzare fatal reaction to a simple dental anesthetic.)

Updated January 16, 1998
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