Innocence
She carefully steps over stones
Short legs
New shoes
Trying not to trip
Watching her toes
Leave, return
Your hand should guide
Pretty pebbles
Watching the ground
Pass by, more quickly
Than you can understand
Because you are too tall
To understand these things
Anymore
Remember?
Your pace quickens
Hurried
Hassled
By this short thing
And her adoration
Of blades of grass
And shiny pennies
Left behind
Walking faster
Harder to keep up
She squeezes small fingers
More tightly
Still trusting
And for that
You will be grateful
When you pause long enough
To realize its weight
Short legs
New shoes
Trying not to trip
Watching her toes
Leave, return
Your hand should guide
Pretty pebbles
Watching the ground
Pass by, more quickly
Than you can understand
Because you are too tall
To understand these things
Anymore
Remember?
Your pace quickens
Hurried
Hassled
By this short thing
And her adoration
Of blades of grass
And shiny pennies
Left behind
Walking faster
Harder to keep up
She squeezes small fingers
More tightly
Still trusting
And for that
You will be grateful
When you pause long enough
To realize its weight