Palm Reader

It was a warm day sometime in March
the wind whispered promises of a new spring
and that girl looked at me
like she knew something
that I didn't
told me that she could read my palm.

So I let her take my hand and lead me to her grandmother
who said she could read my heart
through the lines in the pads below my fingertips

so I looked at them and said
you can tell my past, present, and future
just by looking at my palms?

You can see back to when my hands were barely big enough
to grasp my tall father's pinky finger
letting him lead me through the first years of my life
I stumbled behind him
but his footprints were always too big for me to fit into
it took two of my feet to fill his shoes
but I preferred my own anyways
because his didn't light up when he moved his feet.

You can see the way that it felt
to feel my baby bunny curled against my chest for the first time?
the way his fur felt, so silky soft and cold at the tips
that as I intwined my fingers in his ears, I could feel his tiny heart beating softly
and I promised him that we would be friends forever.
That friendship lasted for 7 of my best childhood years
but he continues stay close to me through the rhythm of my own heart.

You can see the way that my fingers stretched to reach an entire octave on the grand piano
the way it felt to finally master one of Beethoven's masterpieces
Then learning how to stretch my hands to cover my face
from the prying eyes of high schoolers who were quick to judge
and slow to understand
coupled with the countless volleyballs I touched
my hands got big enough that I could pick them up with one hand
but the other girls never saw my unique qualities as endearing
they preferred to label me as an outsider and then return to their mind games.

You can see all of that?
and now, you can see all the different things that my hands are tied in?
see how they flow swiftly across the paper to create letters to create words to create thoughts to create ideas to create revolutions to create movements
how they follow the swaying of my hips and the lightness in my feet as I dance across the floor
how they hold delicate growing plants
nurturing them, holding them steady, directing them towards the sun, towards the light

and you also say that you can see my tomorrows?
You can see whose hand I'll be holding when I say "I do"
or how it will feel to touch my own child for the first time
or the reluctance my fingertips will feel to wave goodbye to so many that I hold close
that will greet death like an old friend
all the lives that I will touch
or the ones that will touch mine.

you say you can see my future?
see how the lines in my hands run like rivers
one of wealth, one of love, and one of life
well I can already tell you
that in this life, nothing is for certain
except for love, which I know I'll always have
and as long as I have that, I will consider myself the richest person around

so I thank you for your offer
and i'm sure that your talents are quite impressive
but I don't think you can tell me anything
that I don't already know.