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Ten Sticky Fingers
By Jaden Brulotte
8-13-08

Ten sticky fingers
reaching up at me
dragging red fruit concoction across my white-white shirt
but it doesn't matter when you gap-toothed grin at me...
To be so young
to be so innocent
to be so vulnerable
so trusting
so ambivalent to what happens in the world
while you explore, you remember, you soak up experiences like a sponge.
you say hi
you say bye-bye
and today, you said "I love you".
To melt my heart
with three little words.
To me-
to be your guardian
like those angels they say
dangle overhead, they say watching, they say keeping us safe...
It's the most important job that I will ever have-
to tend
to care
to love and be there
to hold your hand... and yes, even to say "NO"
to shelter you from being hurt, to keep you from falling,
like those tears that drip from the corners of your eyes
when I say it, but someday
you will understand...

Someday, I will watch you
in a different way than today.
I will be there to see you as a graduate, as a wife...
and as a Mommy, bringing life into this world like I have done with you...
To see ten tiny little fingers, sticky with possibility and promise.
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Comments

  1. UnknownAugust 20, 2008 at 1:25 PM

    This is beautiful. It sure does hit home as I am about to watch my girls go to school. My heart rejoices because they are moving forward but, my heart breaks as a Mom because they are moving forward.

    ReplyDelete
  2. StonefoxAugust 20, 2008 at 11:54 PM

    Wow, this is so true, and so beautifully said. These babies God gives us are truly gifts.

    Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment. Hope to have you back sometime...and link up on Wednesdays if you post any funnies!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousAugust 21, 2008 at 3:44 PM

    That is really beautiful. Really though the difficult part of being a Mom. Being happy for them to grow but also being afraid of them growing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Woman in a WindowDecember 16, 2008 at 7:20 PM

    As my son sat in the bathtub tonight and I very unromantically multi-tasked and cleaned the toilet he said, "Whoa mom, being a mom sure is tough!" And I answered, "Oh sometimes, but it's the best gig I've ever had." He was surprised. He should never be. Being a mother is the greatest gift to me!

    Nice poem!

    ReplyDelete

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