A poem for Gracelyn

Posted October 15, 2014

We didn’t tell her what to think,
Or any rules to follow.

We didn’t tell her what to feel,
Or how to anger swallow.

We couldn’t teach her to be real,
And not to feign emotion.

We wouldn’t tell her how life is,
We let go of that notion.

But in the end we knew that she,
Would get just what she needed.

By loving her right here, right now,
This moment . . . then repeat it.

Doing my best to keep up with a high-spirited thirteen-year-old on the footpaths of the Appalachians.