. . . 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.
I love your description of those 4 beautiful youngsters. I also love the memory of those first barefoot days from when I was kid. We always begged to go barefoot, and when mama said we could, it was like heaven. Thanks for that memory.
Beautiful, Kelly! So evocative of summer, childhood innocence and embracing all that life has to offer. Thank you for this delightful post. Blessings to you and yours. 🙂 x