Children's Day

I suppose we don’t have an official one because, for most of us, every day is their day. But maybe we should think about it; a special day when we celebrate the incredible gift they give us with their lives. We could even make it a worldwide celebration. It might be a tough sell in some places, but maybe we could use this pitch: without them, Father’s Day wouldn’t be much. Well, I think it’s worth considering.

In the meantime, I’d like to offer up a few poems my children have inspired me to write.

The Lemonade Tree

Have you ever found a miracle

Growing in your backyard

I did yesterday

It seems my daughter planted it

Just by wishing hard

For a game to play

I know this sounds ridiculous

To adults like you and me

But for one moment

When she said, “Daddy look,

A Lemonade Tree!”

I thought I saw it

I thought I could feel the coolness

Of a leafy sweet shade

Hiding the sun

I thought I could taste

The sour of lemons

And the sugar of fun

Of course, you and I know better

There’s no way to grow

A Lemonade Tree

What I saw and felt and tasted

Was a child’s mind aglow,

The joy of being three

But still, there was a miracle

In my yard yesterday

No Lemonade Tree

But a miracle just the same

For a child at play

Touched the child in me

The Monster in the Hall

I’ll always remember that giggle

From the bedroom

When I played the monster,

Growling and gruffing

In the hall

And sometimes when I pass that way

I listen for a moment and remember

How to smile

Newberry Summers

Like faces in the misty light

Visitors from Rome

Come sailing home in arks

Full of Kermits and kangaroos,

Drawing dreams of bubble gum

And baseball in the sleep heads

We put to bed at night.

And, for a time,

The world is warm again

In the soft embrace

Of our Newberry Summers

Questions

Do you want to be a big girl?

No.

Don’t you want to be like mommy?

No.

Do you have to go potty?

No.

Won’t you even try?

No.

Are your pants wet?

No answer.