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Birthday Gift to my Grandson’s 8^th Birthday

Saturday  June 7, 2019 we celebrated my grandson’s 8^th birthday in Portland, although his birthday is on the first of June. This year instead of my usual sketchbook gift I decided to give him an album of 10 Gouaches and watercolor paintings for inspiration and a poem written especially for him. He loves to write, paint and draw. I am not a poet or a writer but I do occasionally love to write somethings that may look like poems, and also, at times, short stories. Below is the poem for Ronan and images of the paintings.

For You, Ronan,

on Your 8^th  Birthday

When in the morning,

we open our eyes

to those we love,

like a sister, mom and dad.

And have the urge to hug

or snuggle beside.

It is always a beautiful day.

It’s a beautiful day

to do exciting little things

on our iPad or sketchbook

that are joyful—

A silly drawing

of something that

walks, smiles, and runs.

That may look like someone,

or a creature we love or imagine.

A figure that may entertain us

with its silly smile

or loud hilarious laughter.

Or

maybe a dinosaur,

so unbelievable,

that it is alive

with legs that thunder on the page.

It makes us laugh

and we have the want to

thunder along.

Or

maybe it’s a scarecrow

that doesn’t stand still,

walks and sings to the wind,

or makes angry faces to scare a bird,

that is silly enough,

to perch on

its head.

It’s a beautiful day

to celebrate the time

we were born,

which is never the same

another year

or years after,

we are told.

But we know we really are

the same, because

it’s going to be . . . always

a beautiful day to wake up

with that same urge to laugh, sing

and be silly with those we love—

The ones whom we see in the morning

and those in faraway places

we wish we could,

but are always near in our minds.

 With Love

Grandpa Sarkis