The last first lost tooth
He is six years old, the sixth of our six kids, and it's his turn to pass this milestone for the first (and last) time.
the tooth is so tiny in his hand, like a seed if planted, a little boy with round eyes would rise a birthmark of pale hair on his close-cut scalp a minute gap in his wide smile the seed will be sowed under a pillow tonight light playing across his closed eyes sleep fragile as he waits for the fairy that he still half believes in the tooth fairy will leave him a note saying she will plant his first tooth and it will grow into saffron sunflowers five sprouting from one long stem the most beautiful baby tooth, its loss like the first fallen leaf
I remember when our daughter lost her first tooth, she sat there for a moment holding it and then asked with a trembling lip, "Do people sometimes cry when they lose their first tooth?" She has worried every milestone like a rock in her pocket. "What if I don't want to be [fill in the looming age]? She's still doing it as 20 approaches. I love that she has seen the import of these things her whole life. This is a big one for your family. Sending lots of hugs and love and tooth fairy magic.
Such a bittersweet envoy...