College Poem

Time Moves On, And So Must You

I look at you, and all I see

Are bright eyes squinted in determination,

Shirley Temple curls bouncing as you walk,

Hands on your hips, pink cowboy boots on your feet.

Eavesdropping on adult conversations

Before you could even read

And adding in your own commentary—

There was never a silent moment in the house

Living with high-pitched Halie.

I miss the shows you put on in the living room,

Singing and dancing, your brothers dressed up too,

Such an imagination in that head of yours.

You’d memorize the books we read

And “read” them back to me every night—

“One berry, two berry, pick me a blueberry…”

“‘No, no’ you say, ‘that isn’t right, pigs say oink all day and night’…”

“And roared their terrible roars, and gnashed their terrible teeth…”

I still know them by heart, too.

I look at you, and all I see

Is the little seventh grader

With a huge backpack, half as big as her,

That I’d have to carry to the bus stop every morning.

I didn’t mind getting up early to walk with you.

Those were the days when I still drove the carpool to swim practice,

And your friends would call me “Mr. Olson.”

You’d ask me to read over your essays,

And I knew that someday you’d be a better writer than I was,

But it hadn’t happened quite yet.

I’d make you eggs for breakfast,

And we’d watch the news, just you and me.

I’d drive you to the bus stop if the temperature dropped below 15 degrees.

You needed me.

I look at you, and I can’t see

How I’m going to fill the hour before bed

That I set aside for the inevitable, “Hey dad, can I talk to you for just a sec?”

The house will seem so quiet

Without your greeting each time someone passes through a room.

I’ll have to remember to lock the door

And shut out the lights, now that you won’t be the last one to bed.

The cat might start sleeping with me now.

I’ve been grasping onto the last few “Good night Dad, love you”s

Because I’ve heard them every night for eighteen years

And I don’t want to give them up.

I look at you, and I can finally see

The confident, independent young woman

Ready to take on the world.

I know you’ll find the right path,

Or maybe even forge a new one.

Trust your instincts, find your rhythm,

And just go with it.