Between Bruises and Blooms

Before you,

There were storms

That carved their names

Across my heart.

The kind that leave

Empty cribs,

Silent lullabies,

And questions

No mother should ever have to ask.

Then you arrived.

Not to replace what was lost—

No child ever could—

But to remind me

That hope still grows

Even in broken ground.

You have always carried sunshine

In your little hands,

The kind that reaches

Into the darkest corners

Without even trying.

You laugh with your whole heart.

You love without hesitation.

You wrap your tiny arms around people

As though healing

Is the most natural thing in the world.

You call your sisters

“My babies,”

Watching over them

With a pride far too big

For someone so wonderfully small.

You race after your brother,

Dream beside him,

And somehow make every room

Feel lighter

Simply because you’re in it.

You don’t know it yet,

But you’ve taught me

That surviving

Isn’t the end of the story.

Living is.

So grow, my sweet boy.

Be loud.

Be curious.

Collect scraped knees,

Impossible dreams,

And memories that make you smile

Long after childhood fades.

No matter how tall you stand,

Or how far life carries you,

You’ll always be

The rainbow that followed my rain,

The laughter after silence,

The proof that broken hearts

Can still bloom.

And every beat of mine

Will forever whisper

The same truth—

I loved you

Long before

You ever knew my name.