Thursday, October 16, 2014



 Book by Steve Jackson, "An Affair in the Valley." Available on Amazon Books.

A Welcome Grin

My neighbor
left her baby girl with me
for a couple hours.

The little girl
is wailing,
feeling neglected
and doomed.

Can I fill the void
in t
and somehow 
stop those teardrops?

Maybe her bottle will help.

Holding her
in one arm,
I use a free hand
to get the bottle
at the right temperature.

She wails louder.

Ooooooo
going hungry
is rough.

Here we go,
here’s your warm bottle,
but
what the…?
you’re so distressed
you swat it away.

Here, let me clean your face
where it dribbled
down
your chin.

Now let’s try again.

There,
the bottle’s in,
and those cheeks
wet with tears
become a welcome grin.

She takes it all down,

and now
we rest in peace…

her contented look
lets me understand
why an Asian philosopher
called the infant
a symbol of wisdom.
Cradled on my arm
she looks contented
with contentment-
a good model
of peace and tranquility,
and now that I’m humming
a song for her,
she responds
appreciatively
even gracefully
with another
welcome grin.


pdf














No comments: