My daughter is curled up beside me

and I know that these
moments
will slip into fog
as quickly as they 
spontaneously happen.

Her pre-teen head is angled
on my shoulder
her gangly
long fawn-like 
legs
are layered
against my 
stretch-marked
and aged
ones.

I don't move
or
breathe too heavily.
I might
scare
her away.

And I know
that this moment
is the most important
that will happen
today.