[stylist] Fw: Lost And Alone: poem

[Barbara Hammel]

Oops!  I sent it before I could put in the poem.
I’m sure the formatting won’t come through as usual so as an explanation, this is supposed to have 8 syllables in each line and 8 lines in a stanza and, believe it or not, ... it’s not a rhyming poem.


     LOST AND ALONE



My heart hurts for you, little one,

For I know you don't understand

Why your precious lights have gone dark

And the world has closed in on you.

I'd fix it if I could, dear child,

But that is beyond my power.

Mamas can fix so many things

But, sadly, eyes aren't one of them.



I know the road you're walking down,

For I've passed that place where you are,

But I was grown and you're just nine.

Yes, we both had little vision,

But what we had we used so well;

Yet, I've had a tough go of it

And I can comprehend the change.

What must your young mind be thinking?



My heart hurts for you, little one,

And there's not a thing I can do.

I don't know how to help you through.

Is your happiness gone for good?

Is there any way to reach you?

Was this the final straw for you

That broke down any chance for us

To reach you in your private world?



The deck was so stacked against you:

Abandonment soon after birth

Because you and your twin were blind,

Then orphanage life for a while

And foster to orphanage bounce.

By three you traveled half the world

To become our forever twins.

It's no wonder you have autism.



You've gone so deep inside yourself

That I fear you're slipping away.

That whole big world is still waiting

But you've lost the will to explore.

You just sit or lie on the couch

Curled up to chew on your pant leg.

It breaks my heart to see you there

When you were making such great strides.



Barbara

Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance. -- Carl Sandburg