Little One Poem by Emma Atkinson

It is hard to believe, Little One,
That I could once cradle you
And not have your feet dangle too.
I love your eyes, two happy pools of blue,
Kissed with sunshine
And always true.
I love your laugh,
The cackle of the baby crow
You have so many places to go,
But, Little One, slow down.
Let's sit, the two of us,
And read a book.
Hush, Little One, and look.
Enjoy a moment caught in time.
Soon it will be gone,
And you, grown,
Sooner than an instant.
Not long ago, do you remember? You were but an infant
No, of course you don't, but I do.
You gazed up at me in blue-eyed wonder,
For words had not yet formed in your lips.
You reached for me with only fingertips,
And now I hold your hand,
Listening to your every demand,
No matter how silly, as if I had the power to grant it,
But like a seed, you plant it,
Hopeful it will grow.
How little you know, and how wonderful that is,
For in your innocence, there is bliss.
I love the stream of little songs
You compose from the workings of the world you see.
I smile at how your voice peaks and breaks on a particular word.
You make me laugh, Little Songbird.
I even love your dark-eyed glare,
So unexpected in one so sweet.
But one cannot trample a tiger, even one with such little feet.
And even now its hard to believe
That once you were so small,
A perfect, rosy-cheeked doll.
And when I look at your sun-kissed face,
As you squint up at the sky, still so mysterious and full of wonder for you,
Bright blue,
Like your eyes,
I will remember that sweet embrace,
Where I held you,
And your eyes held me,
And smile.
This one, too, shall I remember,
Where you hug my waist,
Stare up giddy-faced,
And glowing with life.
Know I love you,
And will never forget,
All the things we've come to share.
Some day, I'll tell you, when you ask,
Your hair, long, flaxen, and fair.
I will tell you how I held you once,
Long ago,
When you were little,
And we can sit together again,
And remember when,
If only through my memory,
A time when I held you,
And your feet dangled too.