This too...

She sits in my lap. The peachy pale oval of her cheek is awash in the deep sunlight of the canyon, dry and hot. She wears little jeans, hand-me-downs perfectly broken in. Her feet bob up and down as she kicks them in the breeze, her toenails little half moons of dirt. She presses herself into my arms, cocks her head to the side and looks up at me, her beautiful smile, all teeth and tongue glows brighter than the setting sun. I swear I will not let go of this moment, I will never forget the smell of the air, the river heavy and redolent. I will never forget how she feels in my arms, impossibly big and still, smaller than she will ever be again. I try to grasp back through time and imagine a time when I sat in my own mother's arms, I try to imagine all the mothers through time swearing they will never forget these moments but I know that thief time will steal it from me, chip away at my memories of her until only little snaps, tiny threads remain. I hold her tighter and try to breathe the scent of the sun from her hair, try to imbue every cell with her lightness and her beauty and the smell of this joyous day, this moment in time that too will pass.