. . . for Christ plays in ten thousand places,

Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his. . . 

– Gerard Manly Hopkins

 

Long and leggy, doe-eyed, 

she walks with confidence, 

a gentle fawn, a young colt.

He is all angles, sharp protrusions, 

limbs like the branches

of a young tree.

They both wear socks 

pulled up high because 

they don’t know any better.

 

And then there are the little ones.  

Isaiah with his gentle roundness – 

a gum drop, a plum, a dumpling, we say

searching for words to express.

Levi, bare-chested in the sun

his shoulders thrown back, goggles on,

he stands on the picnic table, “working.”

These ones pad along on bare feet, 

toes like ripe berries,

soft and sweet, fresh.

 

It is the first day of shorts weather,

the beginning of shoe-less summer

and all around me limbs unveil 

earth’s sweetness, lovely.  

This post is linked with Five Minute Fridays on the prompt “Grateful.” Click over to read more posts.