The Thinking Ones

The Thinking Ones, they are the ones that get you.
The old souls with thoughts and concerns not of their years.
Teddy bears and friends are not their last thoughts as they fall asleep.

No, they catch on the edge of sleep, and come back asking about life or death, fire and smoke - the moments and potentials in life that make all of us quake.
Not simple questions in the close of the day. And the answers, spoken to give peace at the moment, are only as true as we can make them.

We are here to take the very best care of you.
We will keep you as safe as ever we can.

And all the while I wonder what brings the fear at that moment. What brings the musing and the questions to the surface. Smoke seems a silent and sneaky menace, fraught with mystery. Conversations with spirits, no less mysterious, and not easily explained enough for bedtime.

I push the worries and thoughts away with a kiss, pressing hard into small cheeks and foreheads. Won't the love push the fear right out the back? Won't the imprint of a kiss remain the last thought before sleep?

Can't a kiss steal away thoughts of eternity?