Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time I cradled you,
Wrapped you tightly in my arms.
Where you smiled and cooed back up at me,
Your small hand fit snug in mine.

And tiny feet in tiny socks.
The kind I was forever losing.
With tiny hats and a milk drunk gaze,
Arms full with newborn snoozing.

Your soft, fuzzy little head,
Always finding my neck to nuzzle.
Dimpled hands held tight,
To clothes or hair, as milk you eagerly guzzled.

Once upon a time my heart
sat firmly in my chest.
Till you were born and from that moment
I brought you to my breast.

And I’ve watched you grow in awe,
First foods, first roll, first strides,
To singing, dancing, the stories you tell, that have us laughing and watching with pride.

I never noticed from day to day,
How your face started to thin.
How you lengthened, grew in height,
In mind,
When you got this big I just can’t pin.

But I woke up and there you were,
A toddler in full flight.
My baby gone, lasts snuck on past,
As I scroll photos late at night.

For we celebrated all those firsts,
But I didn’t think much on those lasts.
Last feed, last nappy, last time in the carrier,
So many moments now in the past.

There was no time to say goodbye,
To all those little people you once were.
Gone overnight sometimes it seemed,
These first few years vanished in a blur.

And as I witness you continue to grow,
I will try to know you now as fully as I can,
So once upon a time when I think of you,
I’ll remember this small boy now a man.

 
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In a moment

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Moon Dance