for Nika

I love you
for who you are
not for this, that
or the other thing.

You are my 2nd born
daughter, the one
with the rebel yell.

You never liked
to be scared, not like
your sister who screamed
with delight, when daddy
turned into a cartoon ogre.

You kept seeing ghosts
in the hallway of our house
on Allenby Road
so we placed garlic
behind the pictures there.

You pushed fear away
from you, sometimes
violently . . . threatening
the clear and gentle
blossoming of your aura.

Now it's your turn
to learn . . .
to let down your guard,
to breathe in the Sun

to let that radiant light
nurture and and protect

you, my darling
Lotus blossom.