Easter Memories

When I was 3
I wouldn't leave
My mother's knee
To say my Easter speech

When I was 6
I was confused
About taking communion
On Easter Sunday
I thought maybe
I wasn't allowed
But I quickly found out
The communion table
Was open to all
On any given Sunday

When I was 9
I learned that
Even a tomboy
Can look like a princess
To hide scabby knees
Scarred & scratched
From the battlefield
That is a schoolyard playground
All it takes is a dress
That's a little longer


When I was 12
I got the last
Easter basket
I would ever find
Placed by the Easter bunny
While I slept
Waiting for Jesus
To come over the horizon

When I was 15
I learned that
All it takes
To hide a hickie
Is a lace collar
And a little extra makeup
But while some things
Can be hidden
From human eyes
It takes an effort
To hide
And lot more effort
To forget

When I was 18
I spent the first holiday of my life
Away from home
I've never forgotten
How even the kindness of friends
Did not quite replace
The emptiness of not seeing my mother
And of not being home

When I was 21
I held my own daughter
In my arms
And dressed her in her first
Tiny white Easter dress
And took her to church
Were she slept
And I waited for the day
When she would find
An Easter Basket left
While she slept
And Jesus to come
Over the horizon