For a niece (five years old!)

For Genevieve
(Five Years Old)

You clasp the little ball so tightly
One would have to break your hand
to wrest it,
As one breaks off the branch
To get the fruit . . .

And one waits . . .
A time comes
When the fruit just drops,
The time of ripeness.

And a time comes
When the world just falls,
The time of sleep.

- Simeon Dumdum, Jr.

(via whiskey river)