A Child Again
I want to be a child again.
I want to lie down in the grass and look at the clouds in the sky,
to imagine what their shapes resemble. I want to run barefoot
through the back yard with abandon, and see how far I can jump.
I want to sit down in the grass and search for four-leaf clovers.
I want to sit on Dad's stack of lumber with my sister, brothers
and friends and sing old hymns we learned at church.
I want to pull weeds from Mom's flower gardens, and
pick juicy, red tomatoes from Dad's vegetable garden,
and eat them right then, with the juice running down my chin.
I want to play "catch" with my brothers as they practice pitching
the baseball. I want to ride my bicycle around and around the yard.
I want to stop in the shop to see what project Dad is working on
this time. I want to hear Mom calling from the back door,
"it's supper time!"
I want to taste that hot, golden cornbread dripping with butter,
and the made-from-scratch biscuits only Mom could make
with perfection. I want to listen to the church bells ringing
at eventide from the old Presbyterian church over in Copeland Park.
I want to crawl into bed with the clean, sweet smell of the linens,
washed and dried on the clothesline in the sun that very day.
How did I get this old and gray and tired so quickly?
My family is grown up now, and the grandchildren are busy
playing, learning and growing.
Soon I will hear the call of The Master,
taking me to a place of such pure delight,
I will feel young and free, laugh, sing, and
glory in the light of His wonderful love.
I will feel like a child again!
A child of The King!
Jo S. McCracken
Copyright © 2006
