Blue child, the swell of your
    existence will not leave me
    You are the gorgeous clouds
    over my new child's head

You are the severity of ice
    when I watch the preciousness
    of your sister scissor and slice
    and spin with red life at the rink

You are the melting joy
    in the innocent delicacy
    of a blue popsicle on a hot, beat beach

You are the most wanted shadow
    caught in the ropes
    of a double dutch at recess

Blue child
    you follow her life
    like a persistent
    playmate

Marnie McGuire won 2nd prize in the "On The Spot" Poetry Contest as part of the Words Alive Literary Festival.