PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

His assignment was a simple one…to go home…observe his family

and then write an essay his teacher entitled, ‘What Love Means To Me’

He did just that…for days he watched his mom…he secretly took notes

and after a little bit of observation…this is what he wrote:

WHAT LOVE MEANS TO ME

Love is my mom making sure I have all my meals…that I am happy and well fed.

It’s how she makes sure I take a bath, clean behind my ears and brush my teeth before I go to bed.

It’s how she happily gets behind the wheel when it’s her turn to car-pool

or how she greets me with a hug and a kiss when I get home from school.

I saw so many big things my mom does when I was watching…big things of love just for me

but I also saw love in little things she does when she thinks I do not see.

It’s when making me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich she takes the time to spread

the peanut butter…just the way I like it…on both slices of the bread.

It’s the notes she slips into my lunchbox…how she finds a way

with a smiley face or a little heart…to brighten up my day.

It’s when she reads me a book in bed at night…once I’ve prayed my soul the lord to keep

how she always reads to the end of the book even when she thinks I am asleep.

It’s when, after she tucks me into bed and has turned out all the lights, 

she checks back in later…to make sure that I’m all right.

It seems to me love has two parts…before this…I didn’t know…

each part is equally important…each part make love grow.

The first part has to do with those big things we do for others…

like the big things my mom does for me.

Those big things when I’m watching…that are easy for me to see.

The second part are all those little things we do for each other…

Like all the little things my mom does for me

when she thinks I am not watching…when she thinks I do not see. 

So to me love means making another person happier than they had ever thought…

Like all the big things my mom does for me when she knows that I am watching…

and all the little things she does for me when she thinks that I am not

His mom has saved his essay all these years…and sometimes on a whim

She pulls it out to remind herself what her love meant to him.

Today I’m thankful for the simplicity of love:

For our path ahead is smooth…

If our purpose in life is

to love

to love

to love

to be kind

to heal

and to soothe.

 ‘Jesus loves the little children

All the children of the world

Red, brown, yellow, black and white

All our precious in his or her sight

Jesus loves the little children of the world.’

I remember singing this song in catechism class

after which…with our teacher we’d discuss.

She said since we are all God’s children

he or she loves each and every one of us.

As we’d sing she would call us each by name…

saying God made us all a little different…

but he, or she, loves us just the same.

Our teacher was adamant in her faith, her beliefs and her assumptions…her conclusions…

She said this song has no fine print, no hidden clauses

no exemptions…no exclusions!

She said this is a song about love and how love is the key

the cornerstone of all life, of all religions and spirituality.

She taught us how singing is both a spiritual and beautiful way to pray….

and I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if we substituted Jesus

with Brahman, Buddha, Allah or Yahweh. 

She said we should feel love when we sing this song

and I’m sure all Gods would agree

our goal in life should be to spread this love for all the world to see.

But something’s happened to the song we sang when we were innocent and young

the words have lost their meaning…or perhaps the song’s no longer sung.

We are still those same children of the world…

Red, brown, yellow, black and white…

but along the way we’ve stopped seeing each other as precious in our sight.

To those of you who believe in religion…who believe in a God

but no longer believe the words to this song are true….

Look in the mirror…

the problem is not with your religion 

or your God…

The problem is with you.