Just One More?

The sun has fallen,
My mind has, too.
The day was long,
We’re almost through.

Teeth are clean,
Bellies fed,
PJs on,
And stories read.

I rise to leave
And then I hear it.
“Can you stay
Just one more minute?”

And so it goes,
Just one more snuggle.
One more book.
And one more cuddle.

And as my body
Aches to flee,
I picture a future
Where the one asking
Is me.

I imagine a day
Either normal, or tragic,
Where I’m the one pleading
For one more minute of magic.

One more hug, one more kiss.
One more smell of their skin.
Just one fleeting second,
To do it again.

What wouldn’t I give,
Once the pleas have passed,
To come back to this moment
And hear them ask?

And so I stay
for just “one more.”
Which is never one,
and always more.