Spring Loaded

(dedicated to my son, Johnny)

They say April Showers Bring May Flowers;
April’s rain brought Johnny to me,
Spring Loaded.

They say Three Time’s A Charm;

Two times: hospital, tubes, and wires ~
Third time will bring ~ what?

~ Aly’s smile comforts my heart,

and there is, as always, only us ~

They say 13 Is An Unlucky Number;
April Thirteenth dawned in silence.
Third time, came Johnny.

Alone, they say God Is Always With You;

But I could not see Him ~
as a husband’s lies became a father’s rejection.

~ and then only hours old, more tubes and wires,

whisked away for a day ~

They say Marry In Haste Repent At Leisure;

Deus meus, ex toto corde poenitet ~
Strangely another blessing.

They say You’re Better Off Without Him;

And his leaving is my Absolution ~
But Penance may be eternal.

~ they are golden-haired little sweethearts,

baby treasures ~

They say Like Two Peas In A Pod;

Little face mirrors his sister's,
His eyes ever follow her.

They say Snips And Snails And Puppy Dog Tails;

But he is Sugar And Spice And Everything Nice.
Simply made, all smiles and love.

~ boundless energy, with winning ways,

our 3rd Musketeer ~

They say The Eyes Are The Window To The Soul;

Those blue eyes expose eternity ~
He's just wide open.

Always happy Walking On Sunshine;
On The Sunny Side Of The Street,
Joyful is his world.

~ his heartbeat is Hap-py, Hap-py, Hap-py,
Spring Loaded ~

They say Don’t Look A Gift Horse In The Mouth;
I did not, but just two months old,
Another hospital, tubes, and wires.

They say All’s Well That Ends Well;

And sometimes it does,
But that small blue face cut my soul.

~ fear burrows in deeply,
lying dormant all these years ~

They say A Child Shall Lead;

Not yet two, he tells me he’s happy God said Okay.
I ask, About What?

(We don’t go to church. How does he know about God?)

He tells me he was sitting with God

When God asked him Who Shall Be Your Mommy?
he pointed to me and said That One.

~ he was not yet two,
so I believe in You ~

They say Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall;

Our storm loomed fourteen years ~
O that hap-py hap-py heartbeat.

Thumping too-fast too-fast;
Too many times for too many years ~
There will be yet another hospital, tubes, and wires.

Not yet two, he told me You said Okay.
You gave him to me
~ Spring Loaded ~

Don’t renege.

© ACG
23 June 2007