Wednesday, November 21, 2007

My dishes went unwashed today ...

My dishes went unwashed today,
I didn't make the bed,
I took his hand and followed
Where his eager footsteps led.

Oh yes, we went adventuring,
My little son and I...
Exploring all the great outdoors
Beneath the summer sky

We waded in a crystal stream,
We wandered through a wood...
My kitchen wasn't swept today
But life was gay and good.

We found a cool, sun-dappled glade
And now my small son knows
How Mother Bunny hides her nest,
Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows.

We watched a robin feed her young,
We climbed a sunlit hill...
Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky,
We plucked a daffodil.

That my house was neglected,
That I didn't brush the stairs,
In twenty years, no one on earth
Will know, or even care.

But that I've helped my little boy
To noble manhood grow,
In twenty years, the whole wide world
May look and see and know.

Author: Unknown

3 comments:

  1. This is my favourite all time poem - i shall put it on my website www.planetpyjama.com.au and facebook page www.facebook/planetpyjama.
    It is so true and realistic. We can not be amazing at everything we do, so this is all about getting the priorities right.

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  2. I lived by this poem, when my three sons were children. I had it pinned to the kitchen wall ...and it didn't fail us.

    And I am blessed to say that in 20 years the world has looked, and seen, and knows...

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  3. My all time favourite poem. I have had a copy on display in my house since my son was a baby and it helped me keep things in perspective. My son is now thirty, my daughter 27 and what fantastic memories I have. I know they have too, because they told me so! This poem really influenced how I raised my family and I have passed on a copy to my daughter in law!

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