And they became
who they were;
manifestations of the Creator,
tiny vessels of His presence
cultivated inside me,
within me,
conceived in my womb;

the fruits of me
nourished by
the fruit of me
before life
beyond my being
would become
their own

And they were
who they had become;
myself…my selves
fractions of me,
addends of we,
divided into wholes

mirroring
multiples
of yester’s day,
today, and
tomorrow;
reflecting
who I was,
who I am,
and who
I have yet
to be

And they became
who they
had become;
life as
it was meant
as it is,
as it will be

And though the
flesh of my flesh
abides in me
no more,
the subsistence
of my existence
exists only
with every breath
they take

And now they are
who they will always be:
the greatest loves
of my life,
the greatest adversaries
of my sanity
my constant prayers,
my constant worries,
the parts of myself I hate
to let down,
the parts of myself
who elevate me highest

They are my life
and my love for them
will be the death of me,
but, without them
I could not live