There was a Child

There was a child who went forth every day;

And the first object she looks’d upon, that object she became;

And that object became part of her for the day, or a certain part of the day, or for many years, or stretching cycles of years.

People became a part of this child,

The warm, laughing grandma, and the impatient sister, and the understanding sister,

And the firm but loving mother, and the silly, guiding father,

And the girl with whom distance didn’t faze their friendship, and the friends who came and went, and the friends who grew up with her, 

And the people who hurt her,

And the passing strangers, and the kind strangers, and the strangers she couldn’t help, and the strangers who helped her,

And all manners of people became a part of this child. 

Her own parents,

He that had father’d her, and she that had conceiv’d her in her womb, and birth’d her,

They gave this child more of themselves than that;

They gave her afterward every day- they became a part of her.

The mother, always strong with a strong heart and strong words, watching her daughters play outside in the warm sunlight of summer and calling them in sick to school to have tea parties in the winter, 

And always appearing at her volleyball games- even though she didn’t play, 

And beginning a new part of her life in the Lord and sharing that with others,

And only wanting what is best,

The father, kind, hard-working, selfless,

Playing baseball in the front yard,

And teaching her to fix doors and dishwashers and build cages and engines,

And patient; always understanding and listening when her temper caused her to rant,

And supporting the family but being gone for weeks because of it; and having her scream and run down the hallway when he came home, hurtling into his arms and knocking the bags from his hands,

Parents with rules always being there, and parents with love always being there became a part of this child.

And being the youngest sister made this child who she was,

Staying home with her mother, waving to her sisters at the end of the drive,

And lying at the feet of her father coloring in the early mornings,

And following her sisters everywhere always wanting to be included,

And driving around the countryside when one of us could finally drive,

And laughing, and loving, and small annoyances with those sisters became a part of this child.

Meeting new people and making friends at school changed this child,

Swinging high and trying to kick the towering trees,

Magical fairies and playing house,

And getting pushed off the snow drifts and tackling people in the spring,

And getting along with most but not all teachers and learning the price of bullying and how it felt to be bullied all became a part of this child.

Her class growing by double in middle school altered this child’s life,

And always being unsure of herself,

And switching friend groups and crying over lost friends and laughing with new ones,

And waiting for the bus to bring my sisters so we could drive home to the safety of our warm house filled with love,

And blaring the music as we drove home, letting the music wash over us,

And accepting the bad and remembering the good became a part of this child.

Watching the people she knew grow better in high school became a part of her,

And becoming better herself by accepting herself and loving herself,

And crying as her sisters left but never ceasing talking to them,

And having sleepovers and discovering new things about herself and what she wants, but not knowing what the future holds,

Always being busy and trying new things but still dancing every day,

And adult relationships became a part of her as she matured and went through different jobs as work became a part of this child.

People she didn’t know and what happened to them created who she was,

Death from tsunamis, shootings, bombs, and accidents,

Black lives matter and gay rights,

People not batting an eye when others were dead; it was just a part of life,

And a war that was fought her entire life,

And helpless animals dying because of human sports and pollution and buildings,

But people who renewed faith in humanity,

And saved children and donated to help the poor,

All people, good and bad, lovers and fighters became a part of this child. 

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