Do You See?

I wrote this for my son when he was in second grade. He'll be 14 in October. I'm so proud of him.

Do You See ?

Do you see my child
the way that I do?

Do you see what a special boy he is?
How he notices everything around him
like the gold flecks in my eyes
when the sun hits them just right?
And how he tells me it makes my eyes
look pretty ?

Or how he has to rescue the slugs from
the driveway in the morning,
Just because,
“God put them there for a reason.”

Do you see my child the way
That I do?

How he worries and wonders
why everyone just can’t be friends
and how the world upsets him
when people are cruel?

Have you ever noticed his dimple,
right at the edge of his mouth
and how it dips at the corner
just slightly when he smiles?

Or his eyes?
His hazel, emerald green, blue,
Sky blue, azure sparkling eyes,
and how they twinkle with delight
when he’s discovered the salamander
He’s been looking so hard for.

Do you know my child
the way that I do?

How his heart is so big
even for a seven year old
that he wonders why people kill
and babies have no mothers
and why God ever made something called hate.

Do you know
that we had a fish funeral
Last night?
Or that his favorite food is mashed potatoes?
Or that he noticed the golden strands
of Victoria’s hair
shining in the sunlight?

Do you wish that you could see
the way that he does?
Through the eyes of a child.

Do you wish that you could
Know what he knows?

How simple life really is.

What do your children bring to you everyday?