To My Kid

Disclaimer: I am not a parent. Inspired by "Keep on Dancing" by We Are The City

whatever god is,

it’s here with me now.

your lips, your eyes; the hair on your head

the spark of life burning bright in yet unspoiled eyes,

clearly ready to keep on dancing.

a giggle, a chuckle, a soft sigh,

oh the noises you make, even the screams

you grow older and older,

and then one day as we drive in the night, I can look over at you,

and see the complexity of the world in your brain.

the tangle, the mess, the spill of neurons that fire.

some contain memories of our dog.

others have the times table

your gaze out the window holds your view of the world.

the mannerisms you have come from long dead great-grandparents

and you walk with the swagger of your mother,

you talk with my inflection,

and you gaze with something wholly you.

something shaped with your heartbreaks;

your grievances;

your outrages;

your dances;

and your memories.

the tangle of your neurons, which are yours, but borrow some instructions from us.

if i looked closely, i bet i could find the cracks in you.

i’ve known you since you first babbled and tugged on my beard.

and i’d use gorilla glue to seal them.

because happy looks good on you, you know?

i’ve watched the growth spurts.

i’ve watched your cells grow;

a million of which contain atoms from shakespeare,

and a million of which contain atoms from bach,

and a million of which contain atoms from einstein.

you were so tiny, with your tiny fingers and tiny toes and tiny arms and tiny legs,

but now you’re big.

but you keep on dancing.

mistakes and flaws be damned.