The night you were born,I held you tight in my arms
-hardly believing.
Drawing the Moon
By Edward S. Gault
You came up to me
With your little red book
The one you put the stickers in,
And a crayon.
You told me that
You wanted me
To draw the moon.
So I drew a line for the horizon,
Long vertical lines became trees.
A river flowed down through them.
Then I drew stars.
Finally, I drew the moon,
And filled in the sky dark blue.
Because you wanted to see me draw,
And there would come a time
When you will not care what I can do.
Copyright 2008
One Single Impression: Gift
19 comments:
Awwww. That is lovely but so heartachingly true too.
Edward, my father will be 80 in December and I delight in many things he does! It is pure joy to me when sings, plays guitar or piano, he cooks on the grill and tells me stories of old! Take heart, you may not be so replaceable as you might imagine!
Enjoyed this. I think there are times when we think we're replaceable, but when it counts, I don't think we are.
That first one knocks me over. My daughter's birthday is Wednesday, and this poem of yours captures that magic of that moment.
Of course, a reader may not ever know if a poem is autobiographical or not, and I suppose it doesn't really matter. These are poems any parent could show to their children, at any stage of life. Very touching!
Yes. The haiku sets the stages wonderfully for the longer poem. I like the way you build up to drawing the moon -- making the moment last in the poem as well as in the world.
This is lovely to read Edward. Touching and heartwarming and just a little bit sad. Well done with this wonderful prompt.
www.mypoeticpath.wordpress.com
These are both so tender and full of love. I think the phase when children lose interest passes after they themselves move through the time of absolutes when they think they know it all and discover that life is really awesomely complex... and simple both.
beautiful, beautiful, beautiful...
and let me just add (having read barbs.haiku's comment) that as i grow older, and begin to face the prospect of starting my own family, my appreciation for my parents and their acts, both past and present, grows. :)
A bittersweet poem - true in many ways! Very nice!!
The haiku is so lovely. The longer poem brought back memories of the smell of color crayons and the tug of the paper. There in my lap is a small body waiting to see what wonders will appear on the page. Thanks for sharing this.
Edward, most of us have been through that. It doesn't last, thank god. That poem could be worked into an arty kids' book, don't you think?
I got sidetracked looking at your photography. Very impressive.
i agree with kouji..and im sure yoru child will always cherish these words
Edward, this is a niche for you (first person writer) in the life of that gift.
There will be many more moons to draw even when it seems they may not care.
I have five of these gifts, now between ages 33 and 52. I am drawing different moons with them all the time.
I love it.
..
Edward--
This is lovely...but I think that just past that time when they don't care is the rest of their lives when they will care tremendously for what you draw, and how you draw it. Matter of fact, that observation of us (parents)goes ever deeper, it seems, as we become real elders.
Thanks for this--
there is nothing more precious than the inner thoughts of man exposed... **sniffle, sniffle..sob, sob**
you do know how to make me cry...my little ones are not so little anymore & are winging away into their own...your words make me long for those moments. i remember telling my husband that i was cherishing every moment in spite of the chaos of those days.
..touching and warm.. many thanks..
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