it wasn't till I walked there
all alone,
that I realized all the beauty
I had missed.
A smiling face beside me, and
fingers twined with mine
were focus, thought, and scene
enough,
for the eyes of my young mind.

it wasn't till I walked my path
a good way on my own,
that flowers once kept hidden
from me
began to bloom and grow.
A smiling face above me and
a ring of friends around,
hands full of pencils, paper,
and notebooks full of ink -
for what might be the
first time,
I've begun to truly see, the
wholeness God intended
when He stooped to create me.

no smiling face, nor fingers twined,
nor hearts ablaze with
love and fire,
nothing can ever steal the place
of my soul's sweet
desire

to love is to be is to will is to do -
to do is to love, and

dear God!

                 I love you.