11:11

I used to hoard wishes

like a starving child hoards crumbs 

cast off as detritus by others

but precious nourishment to her

No one I knew put much stock

into pennies tossed in fountains

but I would wait and watch

the copper sink to the bottom

planted like a lotus seed 

beneath the gurgling waters

I was the only adult in the neighborhood

who harvested dandelions 

and blew with reckless abandon

(the casualty of an imperfect lawn

well worth the wind-scattered wishes)

A full-grown woman

who counted fallen eyelashes

as a precious treasure

and clocks blinking 11:11

as heralds of a Magic Time

birthday candles were serious business

not just some yearly photo-op

made more difficult as years increased

and lung capacity declined

Partygoers would teasingly ask

"What did you wish?"

I would smile and coyly respond

"If I tell it won't come true!"

Thinking it was a joke, they would laugh

not knowing I held a desperate hope in my heart

And in all of those years
I never dared speak the secret

that I am finally free to proclaim:

Every weed and smoldering candle

every eyelash and sunken penny

represented just One Wish

that came true 

the moment I met You