FOR MY GRANDCHILDREN

              FOR MY GRANDCHILDREN

My three girls
and my one boy...
I love them all
far more than ALL my books or any glowing pearls
My sweetest flowing bubbling stream of joys!

Each day I think
Each night I dream
that they're far brighter
than sunbeams

They make me smile
Sometimes I cry
when I don't see them
for a while

Brittney's so grown
I must stand up on tippy-toes
to kiss her frown!
Oops, I mean crown - make that CROWN
But, could you tell me - I'm not sure
if those two things protruding from her head
are two extremely funny-looking ears
or just two telephones?
With a good-natured twinkle in her eye
to double negatives her cling is oh-so-firm
I know she speaks them just to see
her old obssessive Grandma squirm

Gabrielle Elise
just reads and reads
from Dr. Seuss to Old King James
all with the greatest speediest ease!
Ever since startin' kindergarten
she's learned to mind her manners
She never fails to say "May I"
"Excuse me" "Thank you" "Please"
With seriousness and good intent indeed
she shares with cousin Heather all she's learned
I'd say her excellence
does not her gentle grace exceed

And Heather Rose
with cheeks to match...
Her favorite word, it seems, is "Why?"
She uses it so endlessly
we wonder if to hide or flee!
Beaming brown eyes
don't miss a thing:
minute dolls' shoes
fresh brownie batch
or maybe two new baby birds
getting ready to hatch
She flits from thing to thing so fast
that these old eyes
can scarcely keep the watch

And, oh, our Dylan, Dylan Tyler!
Where could eleven years have flown?
Still remember when first we saw you
You were only minutes old
And now we see your photographs
with running cleats for sprinting feet
a big wide grin
and shoulder pads to match
And, you know what?
You were then and you are still
the dearest of all grandsons -
and our very own
The many miles between our homes
don't often bring us face to face
but every time they do
you never fail to enfold us
with your tender ways

                                        Marta Esperanza Edgcombe
                                        Thursday, July 1, 2004