Foundation

you never see their light but you made the flame

  you you say ghost  
     as if invisible  
          means unreal—  
               but watch how wind  
          moves through branches  
     how it bends the world  
          without being seen

the hands you held  
     knew your touch  
          immediately—  
               now you build  
          the rooms  
     where other hands  
          will meet  
               and hold  
                    and heal

this is not less  
     but different—  
          the way roots  
               work in darkness  
          to lift cathedrals  
     of leaf and light  
          into being

you trade the tree
     for the forest  
          one flame  
               for the conditions  
          that let fires  
     kindle everywhere  

          you never see  
               their light  
                    but you made the flame

some days you will ache  
     for the simple geometry  
          of cause and effect—  
               your hand  
          their healing  
     your voice  
          their comfort  
               the clear line  
                    connecting

but you are learning  
     the patience  
          of aspen roots—  
               how one tree  
          becomes a thousand  
     all connected  
          beneath the surface  
               how what looks  
                    like separate growth  
                         is one vast organism  
                              breathing

the person who walks  
     through a door  
          you created
               into light  
          they may never know  
     your name  
          your sacrifice 
        but they know  
               what you built—  
                    shelter  
                         possibility  
                              home

you are not a ghost  
     you are foundation  
          not fading  
               but holding
          the visible work  
     of a thousand hands  
          that could not reach  
               without the structure  
                    you have become