Courage of a Little Girl

[heartfelt7]

Courage of a Little Girl

She asked the man in the red life vest
if she could take the swimming test.
A bit of fear in her innocent eyes
belied her fierce resolve inside

To win not a ribbon, but a prize just the same,
a colored wristband with her very own name,
so she could play and swim and have some fun
in the deep, deep water with the older ones.

He blew his whistle to clear the way
and said, "Listen carefully to what I say.
I will watch you swim from there to here.
There will be no reason for you to fear."

In she jumped and off she swam
with only one thought, I can, I can.
But slowed by the distance, tired in the end,
he took her hand and said, "Little friend,

Without the wristband you can still have fun
splashing and playing in the summer sun,
but you must practice in the shallows here
and try for a wristband maybe next year."

It broke her heart, but you'd never know.
She didn't cry or pout or put on a show.
"Okay," she said, and went off to play.
I could never be prouder than I was that day.

[anirbas]

*CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!*

Your ability to take a random
moment in your poems
and elevate it to greatness
has never ceased to amaze me.

Plucky little sprite
and talented storyteller
poet of a grandparent

Might I say, I am overjoyed
to find you here, dear friend.

[phantasm]

Are the pools around you still open where you live, heartfelt?

My apartment complex and most other places in my town closed their pools last weekend,
at least the outdoor pools.

[heartfelt7]

Hi Phantasm. The public pools are closed here too. It's still plenty hot to swim, but with school they don't have enough kids to justify staying open. Oh well. Looking forward to next year.

Thank you so much, Sabrina! You are too nice (as usual). My granddaughter "is" plucky and, like I said, an inspiration to me to start writing about "WHAT I LOVE" no matter what!