the best calls

to be seen

I have a gift:

I see kids,

I see and appreciate them

while they’re in the middle of the maelstrom

of event after event that can rock them,

I can see them when they find a moment

to pause, notice, appreciate the moment

and the others around them,

when each is most aware of the world around

each can be most aware of the world within,

what a paradox,

for the world without can also swallow one’s individuality

and make us chameleons,

for the world within can also make us lose ourselves

when, like Narcissus, we find ourselves so central

we actually lose who we are in connection,

at the heart we can feel alone,

yet, if we’re at the heart,

we can present a sure enough surface to the other

that a bond can be real, and can last,

I hope to be real enough, caring enough,

that when I see the kids, they can see me,

and know that I believe in them:

that they can be the best of all within and without that calls to them.

by Henry H. Walker

May 17, ’13