Mini-me

Going through some old photos, I came across these. Ryan always got a kick out of the way we looked so much alike at various stages of his short life. This one, in particular kicked off the "Mini-me" name which stuck for many years.. It inspired the following poem

Two photos, years apart.

Same tilt of the head,

same dark eyes finding the camera,

same stubborn set of the jaw

that was mine before it was yours.

You came out already looking like me,

like the world needed proof

you were mine.

Everyone said it.

Nurses said it.

Strangers in the grocery store said it.

I never got tired of hearing it.

I used to hold you up

next to old pictures of myself,

laughing at how close it was,

how uncanny,

like looking backward through time

and finding you already there,

waiting to be born.

You wore my face

before you wore your own.

Grew into someone entirely yourself,

and still,

underneath it,

I could always find me in you...

same eyes,

same sly grin,

same stubborn desire

to "do it myself,"

Mini me.

Not because you were small,

not because you were a copy,

but because some part of me

got to walk through the world twice,

once as myself,

once as you.

I'd give anything to watch

the next chapter of your story unfold.