Please Touch Me

If I am your baby,
 please touch me.
I need your touch
in ways you may never know.
Don’t just wash and change
and feed me, but rock me close,
 kiss my face and stroke my body.
Your soothing, gentle touch
says security and love.

If I am your child,
 please touch me
though I may resist,
 even push you away.
Persist, find ways
 to meet my needs.
Your goodnight hug
helps sweeten my dreams.
Your daytime touching
tells me how you really feel.

If I am your teenager,
 please touch me.
Don’t think
because I’m almost grown,
I don’t need to know
 that you still care.
I need your loving arms,
 I need a tender voice.
When the road gets rocky,
 then the child in me still needs.

If I am your friend,
 please touch me.
Nothing lets me know
you care like a warm embrace.
A healing touch when I’m depressed
assures me I am loved and
reassures me that I am not alone.
Yours may be the only
comforting touch I get.

If I am your life's partner,
please touch me.
You may think that your passion
 is enough, but only your arms
hold back my fears.
I need your tender reassuring touch
to remind me I am loved
just because I am me.

If I am your grown-up child,
 please touch me.
Though I may have
a family of my own to hold,
I still need
Mummy’s and Daddy’s arms
when I hurt.
As a parent the view is different,
I appreciate you more.

If I am your aging parent,
please touch me
the way I was touched
 when I was very young.
Hold my hands, sit close to me,
give me strength, and warm my
tired body with your nearness.
Although my skin is worn wrinkled,
it loves to be stroked.

© Phyllis K. Davis