Sacred Places

a sporadic scattering of

   stones

          beads

     pictures

a tuft of fur from a beloved friend

long gone.

the space is small enough to hinder all movement

and momentarily

i am enmeshed in a bit of

    soft white yarn.

untagling myself, i shake loose

a bit of plaster

and she looks at me like

           i'd committed some seditious crime.

the stigma placed on secrets

   and secret keeping

      especially from one's parents

causes her trepidation

until i pledge to keep silent

from here to the nether lands.

  satisfied, she lets me in entirely.

i tread carefully

         here.

in a child's sacred place.