I Grow Somewhere Else

I am a leaf and I see a big sun.
I see a leaf next to a small cat.
I love the sky.
I love the blue water.
When someone picks me up,
I grow somewhere else.


By Jared (3 gr.)


This Being Alive fell off the radar yesterday after another day in the classroom, subbing this time for 2nd graders, my old stomping grounds. But here I am, early Saturday morning, re-reading this poem by Jared, a 3rd grader I met on Wednesday. 


I woke thinking about my own life, surprise surprise, about where else I might grow or how do I want to grow, and how lately my growing feels tinged with pain...growing pains.  Like when my brother, Rob, as a teenager, was always snapping his arms open and closed, hands held together and snap snap, because his arms bothered him. 


He had growing pains. 


I grow somewhere else. 


Something about that line strikes a chord. I'm not sure. But I like the line. I love the whole poem. And I love how Jared states things so simply, so clearly. 


Then there's this: bloom where you are.


Hmmm.


May you have a most beautiful day, blooming/growing.
I'll be back Monday.
Peace be with you.


xo b