I wrote this poem 19 years ago, but have never shown it to the person it was written for.
Perhaps now is the right time.

Love song for Laura

At dead of night I hear your cry,
Plaintive, insistent, cutting through dreams.
I stumble from sleep, half cursing, half groaning,
To comfort your pain and answer your need.

Nestling beside me, you take the nipple,
Greedily sucking, hungry for love,
I gaze at your body, your tiny perfection,
Your hands grasping tightly, my hands holding safe.

Sated at last, you pull away,
Eyes meet eyes in the purest love,
Your smile shows the cause of your pain and frustration,
A sliver of white in a swollen gum.

In that smile is my own love’s reflection,
It leads me on down the years to be,
Through days of fairies and hidden silver,
To nights when you’ll lie with a child of your own.

The chain stretches on through generations,
Spun from gossamer, kisses and smiles,
Forged like titanium by our labours,
Binding us always in pain and love.