DarkBlue - Emma Lloyd - Emma's Dawn

AI-generated.EMMA'S DAWN

She sits by the window in the early greyHer thumb on the windowpane, tracing a face she's madeOne chair stays empty when the family eatsHe left before she ever learned to say his nameNo anger in her — just a grown-into acheAnd a question she can ask but never name

Three women kept the weather from her doorMother kept the hearth warm, her sister held the wallsAnd Auntie brought the sunlight spilling through the hallsThey meant to guard her — not to build a wall

Oh Emma, Emma — you'd give your coat awayAnd swear you never felt the cold that dayYou feel what others hide behind their faceSweet Emma, nobody taught you to be kind

She fills her sketchbooks — kisses in the rainAnd waits for someone unafraid to stayNo middle ground between her mother's cautionary pastAnd the perfect love she writes to make the ache hurt lessShe stands there at the garden gate, childhood at her backAnd turns the heavy latch herself — nobody hears it catch

Oh Emma, Emma — let your own voice growBeyond the rooms and roads you used to knowThe world will bruise your tenderness — you'll tend it anywaySweet Emma, nobody taught you to be kind

They kept the weather out, they kept her warmBut a garden needs a little bit of stormHis empty chair can't tell you who to beEmma — you're the one who holds the key

Oh Emma, Emma — watch your spirit climbThrough every stumble, every first hard timeYour kindness isn't weakness — it's your choiceAnd growing hasn't dimmed your quiet voiceFrom the girl behind the garden wall to the woman at the gateSweet Emma, nobody taught you to be kind

You were blooming… all alongEmma…Emma's dawn