A Poem For Scarlet Grace

We chuckled with great amazement and such

as monsters came up from the seas,       

the wildebeests came close enough to touch

and spiders crawled up on our knees.

 

At first we were frightened, as you might expect,

until we both reached out to feel

the horns, the beard, and the skin of the gnu

that happened to be quite unreal.

 

For in the instant our hands touched the sight

and trembled at what we might find,

the monster was nothing more than the night

and the rest? We’d just lost our mind.

 

But when you’re under the living room tent

constructed of blankets and chairs

and you’re pretending to be quite upset,

it’s easy to feel all the scares.

 

Anything’s possible if you’ll just try

to be someone other than you,

or in some strange place on earth or the sky,

or maybe just lost in the zoo.

 

Then falling down in a pile on the floor

with laughter so hard that you squeal

beside the granddaughter that you adore

Hey look, Scarlet Grace, it’s a seal!

For Scarlet Grace

©  2012 Ken Shelton