Kissing Foreheads by Sharon Ide

The soft lamp stands sentinel,

a lighthouse through the night.

Peace manifests as a clear brow,

parted lips,

warm breaths.

I gently stroke fine hair away

to plant a tender kiss on this fragile soul.

Here the similarity ends.

I stroke one cheek, plump and soft.

I stroke another, sunken and stubbled.

One body grows in infinite hopes.

The other deteriorates in the finality of death.

My son makes his debut on the stage of life,

his entrance dividing attentions,

timing unapologetically divine.

My father exits stage right,

supporting characters left reeling,

discovering themselves in the spotlight.

My eye attends to both,

as the giver and receiver of life.

Blessed in the war of emotions,

my role and privilege in this moment:

kissing foreheads.

Sharon Jeong Ide spends her days as a wife and homeschooling boy mama in Houston, TX. You can find more of her musings on faithful living, theology, and motherhood on IG (@sharonjeongide). She also writes historical fiction, striving to capture the goodness of God in Korean-American stories from the early 20th century to today.