a stairstep of becoming

our grandchildren, our joy

there should always be wonder

in the coming into the power of the self

that every child deserves to be able to release,

with our grandchildren it’s almost a stairstep of the stages of becoming,

our older granddaughter is eight going on adolescent,

as the consumes books, remembers everything,

notices and celebrates process after process,

all the while coming into the power of her will,

our five year old granddaughter can devastate us and herself

with the joy she can find in a moment,

and the sorrow that can envelope her the next,

heart and head hold each moment close to her,

and her will hates to be thwarted, too,

our youngest grandchild, one year old Max,

is as perfect a new child 

as one could hope for,

solid in body and self,

intense in eye and consideration,

beautiful in countenance 

and how his spirit animates 

face and head to express that self,

loving pattern in vocalization, 

and in the drumming of hands and feet,

his will wants to take on the world,

and he’s most successful now in pulling us all to him

to be whoever he might find most pleasing.

by Henry H. Walker

December 25, ’13