“There was a child went forth everyday;
And the first object he look’d upon, that object he became;
And that object became part of him for the day, or a certain part of the day, or for many years, or stretching cycles of years.”

The budding trees became part of this child
And the chicken feed, and gathering eggs, and chasing clucks around the coop,
And the hikes in the woods to that water fall,
And fishing at the pond, and always throwing them back,
And following the trail that led us back to the comfort of grandma’s house,
And getting cookies from the cookie jar and always trading them with friends, all became part of her

The brown and yellow dogs became part of her, venturing through the woods, exploring, and always packing a snack in case she got lost,
And going to the water land that was thought to be so vast,
And finally making it to the deep end and back,
And melting, dripping, ice-cream; and feeding the fish and turtles,
And returning home to catch those bugs of light at dusk, all became part of her

The leaves changing, falling, dying all became part of her
And the fruit picking at Sage’s and her grandfather’s farm,
And the stuffing of hay in old clothes to make a scare crow,
And carving pumpkins, and collection of candy, and the satisfaction of eating it all,
And the raking of leaves, and the scavenger hunts, and the tractor rides through the wooded trails, all became part of her

The white fluffy flakes fluttering down and gathering some feet high all became part of her
And the sledding down hills, and getting pulled back up, and never wanting to leave,
And the gliding over ice while holding a hand,
And the snowmen building with the help of dad, and the igloo attempts that would never seem to succeed,
And the sleeping with pajamas inside-out, and sleeping with a metal spoon under her pillow, and flushing ice down the toilet,
And all for the anxious sitting in front of the television waiting for “Chardon Local Schools” to sweep across the bottom, all became part of her

The long stretches of land, and the tall sky that never seems to end;
The spectacular stars shining down on her in night;
The hot, dry air filling up her lungs with each new breath;
The love and passion for humanity and others: stimulating, driving, motivating;
The opposite coast, far from all the things that had become her;

These became and will become part of that child who went forth everyday, and who now goes forth everyday, and will always go forth everyday.