I am thinking today of endings and beginnings, and how we often think we are not ready for either. We are.

In the words of A.A. Milne: “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and loved more than you know.”

The End

The end

comes gently, on tiny padded paws.

It nudges once, twice.

Hello. I am here. It’s OK.

My fighting fist sighs open

and trembles on whispery velvet.

It reminds me

of the downy head of my baby daughter

as she suckled at my newly-clumsy breast, her wise little hand clenching and caressing,

my mother-ness an other-ness

not yet comprehended;

and of the exquisite fragility of love

and new beginnings