In honor of National Poetry Month, here's my favorite poem written by my daughter, Jenna, at the tender age of fourteen. This award-winning poem appears in my book and has been known to move people easily to tears, including me.
Out of the mouths of babes....
Photo of Jenna by Erik Taylor
Photo of Eric by Jenna Winter
In My Dreams, Eric
by Jenna Winter"In my dreams, I saw my brother walk.
He chased me around the house,
His cerebral palsy gone.
He talked to me about the things we've missed
Over the years.
It was nice to hear his voice,
His real voice,
For the first time,
And we conversed till midnight.
He yawned and told me to take him outside,
Down to the pond.
We caught frogs by flashlight,
But they wiggled out of his small, inexperienced hands.
He giggled with delight,
Told me that he liked the way that they felt.
I gave him a ride back up to the house,
His sleepy head bobbing up and down
On my shoulder.
I slipped him into bed.
Covered his brand new body,
His brand new strength.
As I looked down at him,
He opened his eyes,
And he smiled up at me.
I smiled back tears
That threatened to fall as,
Unbroken,
He told me that he loved me."
Excerpted from Breakthrough Parenting for Children with Special Needs: Raising the Bar of Expectations with permission of the publisher Jossey-Bass/Wiley & Sons. Copyright Judy Winter 2006. All Rights Reserved.
1 comment:
This has always been my favorite. Always.
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