{"id":1261,"date":"2025-01-22T21:15:46","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T05:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loopcntr.net\/musings\/?p=1261"},"modified":"2025-01-22T22:07:56","modified_gmt":"2025-01-23T06:07:56","slug":"wide-eyed-child","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loopcntr.net\/musings\/wide-eyed-child\/","title":{"rendered":"Wide-Eyed Child"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Liza Loop, 2010<\/p>\n

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photo by Allan Mas<\/p><\/div>\n

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Dear beautiful wide-eyed child,<\/strong>
\nWe knew each other once<\/strong>
\nBut then I lost you.<\/strong>
\nLost you to determined pedals Pushed forward at the top of their arc, Left and then right, left and right.<\/strong>Lost you to the un-wet bed, the hung-up clothes, The stuffed toys put in rows.<\/strong>
\nRemember stepping into the garden pool<\/strong>
\nWith one high-topped leather shoe,<\/strong><\/p>\n

The wonder of the ant on the peony<\/strong>
\nAnd the chaffer eating the rose,<\/strong>
\nThe sweet smell of the rose, the sharpness of the thistle,<\/strong>
\nThe softness of the kitten and the wriggle of the hamster\u2019s toes? You were valiant in your fight against extinction,<\/strong>
\nPersistent in the giggle and the squirm.<\/strong>
\nYou sang and twirled and rolled down hills,<\/strong>
\nInvented modern art, progressive jazz<\/strong>
\nAnd transcendental meditation.<\/strong>
\nBut the urge to know and learn seduced you.<\/strong>
\nThe pond of pleasing others sucked you down to its swampy bottom And held you there.<\/strong>
\nYou burst into the kinders\u2019 garden intoxicated,<\/strong>
\nUnaware that addiction to achievement and success<\/strong>
\nWould yield asphyxiation.<\/strong>
\nWhile once you scampered after butterfly, then bird,<\/strong>
\nNow you lumber toward the good.<\/strong>
\nThe kiss that used to simply sing, \u201cOh happy me\u201d<\/strong>
\nHas now become a slave to love and duty.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Somewhere deep inside the folds of my being You still whisper, \u201cOooh! Look! Why?\u201d<\/strong>
\nYour smile\u2019s reflected in the mirror of my tears. I strain against quilts of education,<\/strong><\/p>\n

Held tight around me by laces of criticism, Walled in by obligation and padlocked<\/strong>
\nBy the admonitions, \u201cDon\u2019t be selfish.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

You were never selfish. What we told you was: \u201cDon\u2019t be.\u201d<\/strong>
\nI\u2019m walking to the twilight of my life.<\/strong>
\nI want you back.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I want you free.<\/strong><\/p>\n

copyright (c) Liza Loop 2010, Mountain View, CA USA<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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