Child

Child, you step in

shallows and shells

gather at your feet, where

waves of churning wisdom

thinly salted with your charm

wash your darling tears away

and kiss your baby skin; you cup

some of ocean’s power

in between your tiny palms, and you

wonder at the water dripping

from your fingertips –

worlds escaping from your grasp

run in droplets down your arms

I snap your picture, standing

there between the sun and sand

and wonder how you ever will

be tainted by the world;

but that is far from me to judge

I leave you standing here in awe,

a poem of your naiveté resting

on the tongue of God