Right under my roof was someone who was a poet, and I didn’t know it!
The poet was my own second daughter, Alison Gravely Macomber, beginning in her middle school years. This assessment was not mine alone but also that of her teachers and school literary magazine.
Since she has reached maturity, Alison has set up her own blog of her poetry. (Blog address: http://alisonmacomber.blogspot.com/)
Looking back at some of the lines of her poems, I have been struck by some of the thoughts she shared which reflect some profound pondering for a secondary student. I must have been living life too fast to recognize her talent as it deserved, but I have always applauded it.
Alison shares some youthful thoughts in a book in progress which she is compiling called Questions I Asked As a Kid:
“What Will Happen When I Die?”
What will happen when I die?
Will I somehow be able to fly?
Maybe I will soar over everyone,
Maybe I will elevate past the sun.
Will I see the face of God?
Will he give me a friendly nod?
Or will he grab me in a hug
And give my hair a playful tug?
Will I know immense love
As I look down from above?
Will I talk to those on earth?
And will they know my glad-hearted mirth?
I hope they will not grieve too much,
Crying, carrying on, and such.
I hope they will stay in my heart,
As I begin my new start.
How about this one?
“What Will Happen As I Get Older?”
What will happen to me as I get older?
Will I still be shy, or will I be bolder?
Will I be famous, rich, and a star,
Or will I be poor with a junky car?
Will I fulfill every dream,
And will I still like whipped cream?
What will I look like as time goes on,
And will I still be able to run?
Whatever happens to me,
May it always be
That I never lose sight of what is important,
Even if times are different.
Here’s one for younger children:
“Where Are You God?”
The moon is smiling back at me,
Beneath a canopy of stars.
I huddle underneath a tree,
Wondering just where you are.
Are you in the sea so wide and vast,
Are you in a bee so small and fast?
Do you hear me cry when I feel sad?
Do you know when I lie,
And when I am bad?
Do you see from above and look down below?
Do you give us love and make the clouds snow?
Wherever you are in this world so big,
I am really glad you made me a kid!
As parents, my husband and I always considered that we were simply stewards of someone who was very special to God. She sang her first public solo at age 2½ at a Vacation Bible School, received her gift of eternal life at age 5, sang a lead role in a 5th grade musical, and began writing poetry in middle school. At age 4, she never missed finding us at night to give us a “night kiss.” We wanted to freeze her at that stage, but she had “bigger fish to fry.” She truly verified what Solomon and author Don Richardson taught us, that God put eternity in our hearts. Even young hearts seem to know that He is waiting for us when we leave this wonderful world He formed for us. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
Today Alison holds a Master’s in English as a Second Language, is fluent in Spanish, and is a wife. She works part time as an entrepreneur in Herbalife and part time as an Academic Tutor for Sylvan Learning. We were just stewards for a brief time!