My Daughter at Ten
Jonathan Daniel Potter
The easy, fast & fun way to learn how to sing: 30DaySinger.com
My daughter was born at the edge of day When autumn's equinox was a distant Memory, the days in our northern town Narrowing down like light through a keyhole Her mother and I praying for that light To shine in our dawning daughter's heart that First day, praying for wisdom to show her You-the way to open the door and let The light flood in to fill the room of her Life with the light there waiting in her eyes We brought you home, uncertain of how to Love you with the love that overwhelmed us How to protect you from our own mistakes And the mistakes of others everywhere That swirl round Earth's atmosphere unaware Of fragile just-born beings lying there Asleep, soft, smelling of springtime dewdrops Moon petals, sunbeam sweet pea barley tea How to keep you safe from danger but not Safe from love, not safe from every good thing Some time passed, the sun and the moon sped by Birds flew, dogs barked in their turn, words upon Words piled up all around you, wooden blocks Formed into towers to tumble, we moved To a new house, bigger, with a big yard Grandparents kept watch in their turn, new friends Appeared, new places were tried, names turned over On lips and tongue with laughter and cries of Joy and dismay, aunts, uncles, and cousins Walks in the park, everything happening You were as precocious as the sunrise Singing and speaking, running and walking In and out of everything, your mind a Light, your eyes open, your heart burning flames Made of music and color, and yes, you Gave us some trouble, too, we not always Able to contain the spilling over Urgency of wonder you couldn't stop And then your sister was born and you were The guide to her light, the sister teacher Preschool, Kindergarten, teachers smiling Into your light, letting their warmth and yours Merge in moments of time, good friends and best Friends concocting adventures on the spot Scooters, skinned knees, nature walks, collecting Pinecones, leaves, bugs, rocks, slugs, crawdads, fairies You learned by going, learned to ride a bike First on a grassy slope, then on a broad Expanse of flat asphalt near an ice cream Shop, and finally on sidewalks and streets You paved the world in reams of paper drawn With pen and ink, pencil and paint, light and dark Imagined things drawn from the world and made New by the newness of you, you sang songs Made out of the same intricate dream stuff And carried on dramatic productions Star-crossed narratives, comedic word play And I looked at you and your sister in The rearview mirror, wondering at all The mystery let loose within your souls The uniform you wore you wore so well Back then, not for uniformity's sake But for the sake of style and tradition For the way the light shown on the fabric The way a kind of music played across The pattern, especially when you sang In the bleak midwinter, poor as I am What can I give him, give to him my heart When you sang that in the Cathedral with All of heaven's angels pausing to hear Earth stood hard as iron then, but summer Softened the world and warmed the changing time With a view of the strong flowing river Where it came down from the falls past children Playing, you and your new and old friends there And then a new school, new teachers, new light On old thoughts growing and changing, looking Past the past to see continuity In all things, past the future to see the Present moment resting there in your heart That moment of rest is there inside you Always and forever for you to hold Steady when you need to and you will find A river of light flows through in full and Bursting life and love, love of mother, love Of father, sister, grandparents, cousins Aunts and uncles, friends and teachers, angels Saints, and God the source and fountain of love The love that there is no hiding from, the Love that will never ever leave your side I am writing this on the eve of your Tenth birthday and I cannot find the words To say how much you mean to me, Holland To say how I am still as overwhelmed As the day you were born, still overwhelmed With love for you, still blinking in the light Of you, still drinking in the mystery And the majesty of you, and praying For the wisdom to know how to let you Open your door and fill the world with light
The easy, fast & fun way to learn how to sing: 30DaySinger.com
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"My Daughter at Ten Lyrics." Lyrics.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 May 2024. <https://www.lyrics.com/lyric-lf/5425491/Jonathan+Daniel+Potter/My+Daughter+at+Ten>.
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