from the beginning, we are

 

continuity of self

for over 16 years

I have worked to see our grandchildren,

at each stage of their development,

to see and understand how who they are

allows for their development as they

deal with the challenge and opportunities,

the tools available to them,

and the skills possible for them,

who we are, at our heart,

somehow is us from the beginning,

how that self gets out into the world

and refines its self-definition

is the serial story that should captivate us,

every one of us is unique,

every journey is unique,

yet every one of us undertakes the same journey

to find ourselves anew within the commonality,

I watch, I love, I write, I rewrite,

and now I self-publish the tales of the journeys

I’ve seen and chronicled,

I tell my middle school students 

to share themselves in their writing,

that somehow the more particular, 

the more individual, the more personal,

the more universal,

may it be so with the book I publish and share.

by Henry H. Walker

December 19, ‘21