When did you stop thinking
Your bike would be cold out in the rain
Your fish may feel lonely in its bowl
If you missed a step the pavement would swallow you whole
When did you stop caring?
If teddy was wrapped safe in his bed
Or crying over the story of an orphan, ask
Can we help them?
When did you cease
Being, that person?
I think we grow less up than down
If children’s hearts contain truth
Each year we move further away
Let us move backward then to find
The next step capable of returning
The adult to their former compassion
Growing toward not from, the child who asked
Will the ducklings miss their mother when they are grown?
Will you always be here to tuck me into bed?
If I pray for granny in heaven will she visit us again?
When I grow up I want to make all the sick children well again
And I can, because I have the pure heart
Of a child