When you look through a window what do you see? What do your children see? So much depends on what they see.
MY WINDOW
There’s a window through which I can see
Tall ships sailing a wide, blue sea,
Bearded pirates with their treasure chest,
A rainbow of the colors I like best,
Rockets touching down on Mars,
A swing that reaches to the stars,
Snowflakes falling like a curtain of lace,
The sun, the moon, and my best friend’s face,
A tree house in a tree so high,
It’s hidden by clouds in the summer sky.
All these things I can see
Because my window is inside of me.
© Cheryl Elizabeth Waddell
Cheryl wrote “My Window” in celebration of a child’s imagination. Each child has such an inner window, and that window becomes a reflection of his or her soul. The child in this poem has a window that is clear and bright. It looks out on a vista of unmeasured possibility. Unfortunately, not all children are blessed with such a view. They stand before windows that are smudged, distorted, or darkened.
As a guest poet in a city school, Cheryl used “My Window” as a theme for a poetry reading and workshop. Some of the students’ poems were visions of unexpected beauty, while others held fallen tears. Reading them, one could not help but to feel that as responsible and caring adults, it is our challenge to help every child create an inner window that is clear and bright.
We begin by inspiring self-discovery in our children—discovery that leads children to perceive themselves as precious and to recognize the unique gifts they bring to the world.
And as we inspire those children entrusted to our care, they, too, will inspire us!
Cheryl Elizabeth Waddell
Fern’s Music / Fern Forest Enterprises