Moving on

I spent the afternoon erasing...
Errant pencil marks
Something sticky
Tiny, grimy finger prints
Crusted-on boogers
Too many scuff marks
...off my empty walls.

They said that I would miss this,
The wise ones who came before.
They said that I would miss this:
The messes
The handprints
The toys on the floor.


I spent the afternoon retracing...
Leftover hugs and giggles
Evidence of growing inches
Bickering and name-calling
Dripping sniffles in timeout
Echoes of love, of beauty
...off my empty walls.

I didn't think I'd miss this
While the kids are still so small.
I tell them it's okay to miss this:
The house
Their bedroom
It's okay to miss it all.

I spent the afternoon replacing...
Memories and daydreams
A newborn's fussing
Birthday candle shadows
One-of-a-kind artwork
Proof of my family, of joy
...with nothing on my empty walls.