Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion A poem to share

Not sure if any of you have read this but this made me cry the first time I read it. It still touches me every time I read it again.

Do you know me?

They say, "You did not learn your fifty prepositions
Therefore you flunk English composition!"
But did you know: I read Castle in the Attic in a day.
The Indian in the Cupboard made my heart sing.
And I can answer all the riddles Bilbo did to capture Gollum's ring.
Did you know?

They say, "Your book report did not follow the form I gave you.
You get no credit!"
But did you know: I am writing a book of my own.
I didn't know if I could,
but when I tried, the words just came and came.
Did you know?

They say," You don't join organized sports. You don't do anything.
What's wrong with you?"
But did you know: I wrote a song for my mom
because I found her feeling bad.
My dad smiled and took his guitar and put my song to music.
We played it for my mom and she cried,
but I don't think it's because she was sad.
Did you know?

They say, "I am teaching the scientific process here,
and all you want to do is play.
You get a D!"
But did you know: I can name all the constellations
and find them in the sky.
Now I am learning all the Greek and Roman myths that go with each one.
It's exciting!
I have a million questions,
but you get impatient when I'm always asking,
"Why?" Why do you?
Did you know?

They say, "You did not do your homework review sheet.
You will stay for detention.
You do not keep your mind on the things that are important."
But did you know: I can feel the minute I walk into a room
if things aren't going well.
I know when someone needs a hug,
and I can give it too.
I can clown and make you laugh or
sit quietly and listen.
And if you share a secret, even if I don't understand
I would never tell.
Did you know?

Did you know that I can travel
anywhere I want to in my mind.
I can travel far away from you.
And I do.
Did you know?
No?
Because you do not know me.

By Pamela Quinn May 1988

I got a third of the way through it before needing to get the tissues. Thanks for sharing it and I'm putting a copy in my 43 folders to review every so often.

This one got me too. It's a poem from the book Let Me Hold You Longer by Karen Kingsbury. Those "lasts" seem to come so much quicker with gifted children.

Long ago you came to me,
a miracle of firsts,
First smiles and teeth and baby steps,
a sunbeam on the burst.

But one day you will move away
and leave to me your past
And I will be left thinking of
a lifetime of your lasts�

The last time that I held a bottle
to your baby lips
The last time that I lifted you
and held you on my hip.

The last night when you woke up crying,
needing to be walked,
When last you crawled up with your blanket,
wanting to be rocked.

The last time when you ran to me,
still small enough to hold.
The last time that you said you�d marry
me when you grew old.

Precious, simple moments and
bright flashes from your past-
Would I have held on longer if
I�d known they were your last?

Our last adventure to the park,
your final midday nap,
The last time when you wore your favorite
faded baseball cap.

Your last few hours of kindergarten,
those last few days of first grade,
Your last at bat in Little League,
last colored picture made.

I never said good-bye to all
your yesterdays long passed.
So what about tomorrow-
will I recognize your lasts?

The last time that you catch a frog
in that old backyard pond.
The last time that you run barefoot
across our fresh-cut lawn.

Silly, scattered images
will represent your past.
I keep on taking pictures,
never quite sure of your lasts�

The last time that I comb your hair
or stop a pillow fight.
The last time that I pray with you
and tuck you in at night.

The last time when we cuddle
with a book, just me and you
The last time you jump in our bed
and sleep between us two.

The last piano lesson,
last vacation to the lake.
Your last few weeks of middle school,
last soccer goal you make.

I look ahead and dream of days
that haven�t come to pass.
But as I do, I sometimes miss
today�s sweet, precious lasts�

The last time that I help you with
a math or spelling test.
The last time when I shout that yes,
your room is still a mess.

The last time that you need me for
a ride from here to there.
The last time that you spend the night
with your old tattered bear.

My life keeps moving faster,
stealing precious days that pass,
I want to hold on longer-
want to recognize your lasts�

The last time that you need my help
with details of a dance.
The last time that you ask me for
advice about romance.

The last time that you talk to me
about your hopes and dreams.
The last time that you wear a jersey
for your high school team.

I�ve watched you grow and barely noticed
seasons as they pass.
If I could freeze the hands of time,
I�d hold on to your lasts.

For come some bright fall morning,
you�ll be going far away.
College life will beckon
in a brilliant sort of way.

One last hug, one last good-bye,
one quick and hurried kiss.
One last time to understand
just how much you�ll be missed.

I�ll watch you leave and think how fast
our time together passed.
Let me hold on longer, God,
to every precious last.

UGH...I knew today was not the day to read that!!! <sob>

Thank you for sharing!

Yes, I too would love to freeze time!!! Both my kids are in elementary school this year and I do miss them!!! It is scary when they begin to realize that they know more about many areas than you! Thanks for sharing.

My going away gift to my son as he was stationed in Alaska, and I'm in Ohio, was a childrens book, Love You Foreverby Robert Munsch

Here are the words, and grab a tissue.
A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she held him, she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The baby grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was two years old, and he ran all around the house. He pulled all the books off the shelves. He pulled all the food out of the refrigerator and he took his mother's watch and flushed it down the toilet. Sometimes his mother would say, "this kid is driving me CRAZY!"

But at night time, when that two-year-old was quiet, she opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor, looked up over the side of his bed; and if he was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The little boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was nine years old. And he never wanted to come in for dinner, he never wanted to take a bath, and when grandma visited he always said bad words. Sometimes his mother wanted to sell him to the zoo!

But at night time, when he was asleep, the mother quietly opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep, she picked up that nine-year-old boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a teenager. He had strange friends and he wore strange clothes and he listened to strange music. Sometimes the mother felt like she was in a zoo!

But at night time, when that teenager was asleep, the mother opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep she picked up that great big boy and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

That teenager grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a grown-up man. He left home and got a house across town. But sometimes on dark nights the mother got into her car and drove across town. If all the lights in her son's house were out, she opened his bedroom window, crawled across the floor, and looked up over the side of his bed. If that great big man was really asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

Well, that mother, she got older. She got older and older and older. One day she called up her son and said, "You'd better come see me because I'm very old and sick." So her son came to see her. When he came in the door she tried to sing the song. She sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always...

But she couldn't finish because she was too old and sick. The son went to his mother. He picked her up and rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And he sang this song:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my Mommy you'll be.

When the son came home that night, he stood for a long time at the top of the stairs. Then he went into the room where his very new baby daughter was sleeping. He picked her up in his arms and very slowly rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while he rocked her he sang:

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

Okay, you guys finally got me, sniffle sniffle.

Here's my all time favorite. Pretty much sums up how I feel as a parent:

Kahlil Gibran, �On Children� from The Prophet
A woman said, speak to us of children.

And the prophet said:Your children are not your children.They are the sons and daughters of Life�s longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you, And they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let your bending in the archer�s hand be for gladness; For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

(Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet)

oh boy....(note to self- back away from this thread!!! snif snif)

I love Kahlil Gibran!!!

I hadn't read the Kahlil Gibran poem before and wish I had. I plan to include it in a card for new parents with some of these books as a gift. My daughters love to double up with Love You Forever and Someday. They seem to enjoy hearing my voice crack and watching me stop to compose myself. Someday is by Alison McGhee and Peter H. Reynolds:

What every mother (every parent!) wishes for her child is a chance to live life at its fullest--to experience great joys, to stretch, to grow, to understand sorrow, to have a future...to have a someday.

Excerpts

One day I counted your fingers and kissed each one.

One day the first snowflakes fell, and I held you up and watched them melt on your baby skin.

One day we crossed the street and you held my hand tight. Then, you were my baby and now you are my child.

Sometimes, when you sleep, I watch you dream, and I dream too...

That someday you will dive into the cool, clear water of a lake...

Someday you will run so far and so fast your heart will feel like fire.

Someday I will watch you brushing your child's hair.

It ends with:
Someday, a long time from now, your own hair will glow silver in the sun. And when that day comes, love, you will remember me.