There Was A Child Went Forth

There was a child went forth every day; 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 thoughts of loved ones became part of this child, And swimming, and family talent shows, and dreams of owning a dog, and wishing to host a slumber party, And the painstaking music lessons, and the rock-solid 7’oclock bedtime, and the spelling tests every night, and the three-bedroom house, And the five-foot snow days with the blistering snow-storms, And wondering who his grandmother was, and being blessed with not one but two grandfathers who loved him so, And the two mile climb uphill where his house resided – all became part of him. The loving arms of his parents and grandfathers became a part of him; Boatpeople coming to America with nothing, yet turning their lives into something, and living each day grateful for everything. And his father leaving home at the age of fifteen, and venturing to the land of the free, and having no skills, no home, no family, and being adopted by the child’s grandfather; And his mother alone at age twelve, stumbled into California, working and waiting for the child’s grandparents, And his grandfather who had been imprisoned in the motherland, And his grandmother who had toiled day and night – whom he will never meet, And the twist of faith that brought his parents together, And the wonderful chance he had to live with and be raised by his grandfather – became a part of this child. And then the classroom became part of this child, From field trips to field days, a four-story world full of knowledge and excitement, Letting go of mother’s hand, the comfort of home, and savory food. Taking hold of the teacher’s hand, French immersion classes, skipping lunch to play in the orchestra, and planting strawberries in the school garden, Monkey-bars, the Continental Math test, dodgeball, trips to Canada during breaks, Boy Scout meetings every Saturday, Moving to Texas, being the new kid, becoming a Hassler pony, getting a puppy, living in a two-story house – became a part of this child. A school day without recess became part of this child; The pressure of tardies, of making friends, of fitting in loomed over his shoulder. Reading word after word, line after line, textbook after textbook, and making A’s on tests, Dreading the bus ride before and after school, pushing people aside to get a seat, arriving home drenched in sweat, Before school math practice, after-school orchestra rehearsal, the history bee, conditioning day in P.E., Realizing his passion for music, playing in the region orchestra, going to Schlitterbahn after competition, walking home for the first time, Swim team, the 8th grade dance, the “Hassler Party” – became a part of this child. What people call, “the best four years of your life,” became part of this child, And worrying about GPA, and wondering about the future, and deciding what he wanted to be, And studying day and night, and wearing Abercrombie and Hollister, and surfing Facebook, and learning how to drive, And getting a car, and drama, and inside jokes like “using the system,” or rants about how unfair the world is, Holding on to friends, making friends around the world, taking AP exams, studying at the Sorbonne in Paris, Pulling all-nighters, getting a job, becoming a pharmacist-technician, Writing college essays, making college decisions, getting class rank, going to prom not once but twice, Realizing his dream to become a choreographer, adamant in his journey to become a doctor, and learning to love public speaking – became a part of this child. World tragedies and innovations became part of this child; The collapse of the twin towers, shootings in Syria, and bombings in Boston, The swine flu epidemic, the Dominique Strauss-Kahn scandal, three presidential elections, the first African-American president, The world’s first iPhone, the invention of iPads, the creation of 3-D TVs, Skipping school to watch a royal wedding, partying at Corpus Christi when Osama bin Laden was pronounced dead, Disneyland’s 50th anniversary, Bill Gates regaining the title, “Richest Man in the World,” The broadcasting of an Olympic athlete’s death, gas prices jumping from 99 cents to 4 dollars a gallon, and the death of Ray Bradbury – became a part of this child. These became a part of that child who went forth every day, and who now goes, and will always go forth every day.