Lavender

My favorite smell is lavender. It is the smell of my son's nighttime bath. I wash his hair in it, and I have lotion that smells the same. When I get Ethan out of the bathtub, I wrap him up in a hooded towel and he always, always reaches for me. When I pick him up, he pulls his legs into himself, and clings to me like a wet sheet. He lays his head on my shoulder, and all I can smell is his hair. I breath it in like it is oxygen. He will likely be my last child, so it is so important to me to soak up everything sensory about him: the smell and feel of his hair, the way his small body conforms against mine when I hold him. It is such a perfect time, this after the bath time, when I hold my son.

Lavender hair
Sweet flower
Head resting
In the cup of
My hands so
Small I weave
Fingers through
Flaxen light
You do not
Bat a beautiful
Blue eye
Shadowed by
Lashes long
And unbelievable
My son my
Child with
Damp hair
Full of flowers
Sleep thinking
About stars
With heavy
Eyes and the
Moon with a
Silver robe and
Slippers knowing
That I will keep
You always and
Watch over you