When you love someone unconditionally

You see them in multiple forms

I see my grandfather 

An old man at a temple

Or at the store

Quiet with kind eyes

Filled with curiosity and affection

I’m always somehow reaching out

Opening the door for him

A quiet “how are you”

In hopes that it’ll make his day

Picking something up for him

Praying he’ll look me in the eye

And provide me with the blessing 

Of a “thank you”

I see my brother occasionally

An innocent little boy

Saying things only a child could reasonably say

With the most wonderful light in his eyes

That cannot help but make me smile

I used to see him before he was here too

A cousin or family friend’s child

Who I was strangely drawn to

I would cry when I had to leave them

And hope they experience

The most beautiful of lives

I have a theory

The things you want the most

Unconditionally

That need you have 

Deep in your soul

Something you cannot fully understand

Is because in the future you have it

And that need is simply you missing

What is not there yet

When I was a little girl

I used to pray for a little brother

Chaotic waterfalls bursting out of my eyes

Up all night

Staring up at the ceiling

Dreaming about him

The light of my life

I was fifteen when he was born

And I realized

I missed him 

Before he even took his first breath

I see you sometimes

In drawings and actors

In songs and nature

In the first fall chill 

That contrastingly gives me a warm smile

The ladybugs that flutter on an April afternoon

I was looking through my childhood drawings

Recently

And saw a man I drew

With glasses and angelic eyes

Staring with earnestness

To the side of the paper

Maybe in some curious way

I missed you before you were in my life

Maybe that is why people from my faith

Believes God appears in many forms

It’s all one

But sometimes

When you truly love something unconditionally

You can see them everywhere you go