all again

a woman 
buries her nose in the tiny tuft of fuzz
her eyelashes dotted with teardrops
"hello" she says 
voice almost breaking
as she looks at her newborn daughter 
with the most loving gaze one could imagine 
and the baby smiles up at her
its eyes wide in a curious way 
it's tiny hand reaching for her face.
as the years pass
their places shift and change
a five year old girl
tears streaming down her face
though she tries desperately to keep them back 
as her mother tends to her scraped knees
a grown woman 
with a knowing smile 
watching as her ten year old talks shyly to the boy next to her
impulsively tucking her hair behind her ear
a moody teen
looking rather grumpy 
in the passenger seat of her mother's car
receiving a lecture about something she would forget fifteen minutes later
a young woman 
collecting her bags 
and piling them into her trunk 
giving her mother one last big hug
before leaving the nest
a small baby 
barely a day old
staring into his mother's eyes
his grandmother looking on with love 
and tears 
and memories
of all the times
all the firsts
all the moments
they had spent together
ready 
for it all to happen again.