From where I came, I also went -
A kaleidoscope of life's energies spent -
Every turn into the past -
Creates a picture that doesn't last.

The reds, the blues, the purples are gone,
Replaced by time faded colors when done.
Parents have turned into a significant one,
Children are siblings of another one.

And I am still me, in the middle of life,
Always having been the mother and wife.
The kaleidoscope was packed away -
For it stopped turning on a winter day.

Now and then, I pulled it out to play
And was reminded how it stopped that day.
Once again, I have found the treasure,
And once again, I played for pleasure.

Stiff and awkward in my now old hands,
The kaleidoscope met my commands,
The picture of colors changed their form,
So I became a child, and more true to norm -

And I began to weep for years gone by -
Realize my losses - then say "Good-bye"
To the time that wasn't and could never be,
And left behind a little girl called me.

A little girl dressed in a woman's gear,
With her kaleidoscope of life she now holds dear.

© 1996 Margaret Y. Perkins

My heartfelt appreciation to Margaret for sharing her wonderful poetry with me.
She is the editor of Poetry Today Online and a friend.