Audrie's Eyes

There's nothing like the view from Audrie's eyes

     Eyes that don't miss a thing

Sometimes I have to get down at her eye level

     Which makes me think would limit me

But she sees things I stopped seeing long ago

     The stale becomes fresh; the old becomes new

The dark becomes light

     And I come out of hiding

Lonely walks out the door when she walks in

     The present and future push out the failures of the past

Possibilities replace ambivalence

     The standstill starts moving

Roots to the couch are severed as she takes my hand

     The cogs start turning to the constant tune of "Why?"

She doesn't just make a tent in the living room

     She decorates its interior

Rock hunting takes on a whole new adventure

     Spiders are given names

Bamboo sticks are swords or letters or drumsticks

     I find myself back in school and she is the teacher

She opens the curtains in the kitchen

     "So we don't miss the sunset, Nonna!"

Sunsets have never been more beautiful

     Than seeing them through Audrie's eyes

 *  *  *

I wrote this poem in June, 2005 when my first grandchild Audrie was four and a half years old.
The top photo was taken at Christmas, 2007

She is almost twelve years old today, and she still likes to make tents,
but with her brother now.