Amelia's Namaste

by Tom Hooten

I long to hear the little-girl thoughts

puffing out like comic clouds over her head;

dreams of periwinkles, Disney princesses

and salty surf that washes away foot steps but

is powerless against

shadows of the malleable permanence

of a miniature universe hidden 

in a gulf of momentary silence—

a childhood not yet centered.

Under the palms of tiny folded hands

beats a heart ready to sprout mother’s wings,

but for now in innocence she

presses those gentle fingers together in

Namaste to unrestrained love.

TOM HOOTEN received his Master’s Degree in Physiological Psychology from Auburn University, was a pilot in the U.S. Air Force (retired), and had a second career as a Human Resources Director. He has published two scientific research papers (co-authored), a science fiction novel, Hollytime, an essay, "The Physics of Fidget Energy," and several poems. He is in sunny Florida working on Alicetime, the sequel to Hollytime.