Witness

You are the shard of light
flashing from a spoon’s hollow—
and like everything infinite
I cannot touch the softness
below your ear ever again.
Why, my own face
reminds me of yours,
for in these eyes
even strangers see
all that I became
in loving you. All
that I believed, witnessed, lost
and learned over eight centuries.
Even my child can see longing and defeat
playing against the iris’ defiant fire.