Writing poetry has long been part of my being. What a brush can do on canvas a string of carefully chosen words on paper can also do. I wrote this poem years ago, one to which any daughter’s mother can relate.
Once Upon A Time
Once upon a time
a mother longed for a little girl with all her heart.
When she washed dishes,
planted gardens,
painted paintings,
sat by the fire,
She thought to herself: “If I had a little daughter
I would make her smocked dresses of pink,
take her for walks where the blue flowers grow,
Read her favorite stories,
Hug her and keep her close forever.
If I had a little girl, I would be with her
morning
noon
and night.
If I had a little girl, we would walk in the woods,
listen to whippoorwills,
catch fireflies,
watch sunsets and starlight,
birth puppies,
cuddle kittens,
climb mountains,
hear melodies no one else could hear,
dance to the music in our hearts,
paint the lines of our lives together in glorious color–
If I had a little girl.”
And one very special day she did.
She had a beautiful baby girl–a child vital as breath
Vigorous as a new-born litter of anything
A child by grace
With dark shining eyes and hair like her mother’s.
And they were so happy together.
Forever.
Even when forever lost the whippoorwills,
Stole the starlight,
Silenced the music,
Even then, they still loved each other.
Forever.
Charissa, Summer, watercolor, framed, approx. 14″ x 14″, $475 by Gwendolyn Evans
Artwork: Charissa, Summer, watercolor, framed, approx. 14″ x 14″, $475.
Painted when my daughter was two on a hot Memphis summer’s day, this is one of my looser works, influenced by my several workshops with esteemed watercolorist, Charles Reid.