With wonderment, I watched him standing there,
completely happy, free of care
beaming smile of a happy child
magic wand firmly held by tiny hand.
With a majestic wave of the magical green wand
tiny bubbles filled the morning air,
drifting about me with elegant grace
dancing, dipping, floating into my hair
bumping nose and chin, Faery kisses for my face.

With the grandeur of a mighty king
he passed the magic wand to me.
In solemn ritual I dipped the wand into the potion
and my breath sent bubbles into motion.
With each breath into the magic wand
I felt my tension and tiredness go
but in the bubbles that appeared
I saw only energy and tranquillity flow.
Then the magic of the bubbles came to me,
they take our frowns and make a smile
and change a tired adult into a happy child.

Many are the blessings of this world
but for that moment the greatest by far
was a child with his tiny green wand and bubbles in a jar.

in a tiny kingdom, two foot by four
he rules on his knees on the patio floor,
mighty fleets of trucks and cars
space ships that explore the stars
boats and ships upon the sea,
all side by side in the kingdom of his majesty.

traffic jams of awesome proportions
of match box cars and ships of the oceans
journeys to far off lands
all directed by tiny hands.

first a witness to this magical scene,
then drawn across the span between
the adult, tested and tried
to the innocent child inside
I become a participant in this magical land
located in a two foot by four box of sand.

I know not how it received the name,
but I do know of its instant fame
with the child, almost three,
Trivial Pursuit Millennium, but "grown-up things" it shall forever be.
Throughout the afternoon and the evening meal,
the wait for him was torture, sharp and real,
but at last the table was clear,
the time to play "grown-up things" was near.
Small hands clutched and cast the die
answered a question on his very first try,
then cast the die for all the rest
and fidgeted while each tried their best
to answer questions and play the game
until finally once more his turn came.
About four circles of the table and he was through
there were other things to do
and soon he was absorbed in play
through with "grown-up things" for the day.

the joys of pure and simple fun
by the Gods, on Olympus, were un-done
when they created the Olympic games
and put playing within structured frames.
Games such as pecan-tennis, enjoyed by Cam and I just today,
lost their appeal and soon withered away.
By Godly decree, games must have a purpose and definitely rules,
a game without winners is only for fools.
Fun today, must serve as a test,
to separate the good from the very best,
and if it is really and truly fun,
my opponent must be completely overrun.

But oh, what great joy it is to be un-cool,
and to run about like an absolute fool,
with no reason or purpose at all,
other than to have fun with that damn ball.

Tiny Dancers
with big dreams
growing taller
building esteems
reaching for a star
finding strength
in who they are.
Tiny Dancers
on the go,
only the future of the universe
depends on how they grow.

On the cheers and jeers page
it caught my eye,
"Jeers to the old curmudgeon
that shakes his fist" as she drives by.
She avers that she
drives within limits of the maximum posted speed,
but the pulse of the neighborhood
can she read
and that just perhaps
the seconds she will save
can mean parents a lifetime
of mourning by a child's grave.
Does she think it a capital crime
for a child to stray into the street,
is this a sentence
she is prepared to mete?

Be it known to all
that my neighborhood intrude,
you will find me in the street
and sometimes quite rude.
Firmly planted
I will force you to slow
and that my street is filled with children
I will make you know,
and if this journey
you repeat
you will have to contend
with the ogre in the street.
Now if you think
that I am in the wrong,
heed the lyrics
from the police patrolman's song.
Each has asked
that I continue this quest,
for happy playing children
are what policemen love best
and they would much prefer
to answer a few angry calls
than clean the mess from the streets
when the next child falls.

Please remember when driving neighborhood streets
that a posted maximum speed gives us no right
to place a few seconds saved
over the safety of a child that could be just out of sight.

"Come see, come see"
the words ring loud and clear
"Come see. Come see"
no chance that I not hear
"Come see, come see"
means right now, do not delay,
this wonderful sight
will soon fade away.

No chant has ever been so dear
as the excited call to come see
the eight wonder of the world
of this child of three.
I never know what I shall find
as I rush to heed this call
a rare new bug, a fun new game
or perhaps a crayon mural on the wall.

I can only hope
that life shall always be kind
and when I hear this chant
a new piece of joy find
I would hate to lose
the thrill that always comes to me
any time I hear
"Come see, come see".