Hello, little one,
and welcome to the outside of me.
This is the earth
and you are the most magical thing in it.

I am your mother
and you are my purpose -
when you are hungry I will feed you
when you are fretful I will soothe you
and when the world roars
I will tame it for you.

One thing you'll discover, though:
You will never survive this place -
no one does.

You will be confused and afraid
You will seek and be overruled
You will be denied and ignored

Worst of all you will be disappointed
by the world
and by me
and by yourself.

Oh, you'll be brave, I think -
I can see it in those clever little eyes,
But brave doesn't make the world safer -
just more bearable.

So why should you bother with all of this?

Because of bumblebees.

Because of silver frost on dark branches

Because of chocolate and music
and first friends and first cars
and first kisses
and last dances.

Because of crocuses and kites
and squishy sand

And because one day you will likely succumb
to a crazy compulsion to tear your own heart out
so it can go walking around without you

and no matter the agony and the terror you will feel
it will be the most magical thing you'll ever do.

So welcome to the world
my little magician
my little explorer
my great purpose
my little girl.

08/15/2005