Bedtime

Familiar sting of tiredness in my eyes
Against my chest, small breaths and sighs
Sleepy in the nightlight.

She's growing in my arms,
She's so little now.
Where does the time go, where? And how?

There it goes:
Rock after rock
Tick after tock.

Bedtime is fleeting
And when she's sleeping
The stinging turns to tears of exhaustion and joy.

So happy, so sad
To see the time slipping away.
Rock after rock
Tick after tock.