By Emma Huckabee
I was born with the sun on my skin and the wind in my hair.
Everywhere I looked, I felt the beauty of creation
And the hurt we bring to it.
Autumn’s tradition perplexed me as I strove to find
Why the trees cast off their abundant green gowns into showers of red and gold
In return for winter’s careless mantle of snow on their bony frames.
I sat in silence by the seashore,
Wondering how the sea could love the moon enough
To follow its course forever in the tides.
On summer evenings,
In the hot, heavy air scented with citronella,
I darted through my backyard
Playing hide-and-seek with the fireflies.
I am a song-singer,
A tree-climber,
A star-gazer,
A love-bringer,
A wonder-child.
—
You were born breathing fairy tales.
In your eyes, a butter knife held the metal of Excalibur,
A dark, musty wardrobe was a gateway to Narnia,
And all the burrows and hollows in the flower beds were hobbit holes.
You saw battles fought in windless, empty fields
When you were supposed to be doing your schoolwork.
You felt for mystic runes in the tree bark
And listened for the barn cat to speak its greetings to you.
Crafting the stories given birth within your mind,
You find bits and fragments of truth
And paste them into an ink-drawn mosaic.
As I read your stories,
You transform the deepest intimacies of the human heart
So I can understand myself.
I did not grow up like you.
My world of pretend stayed pretend,
Because real was real,
And pretend was not.
But now, between the bindings of your book,
I can pretend, really pretend,
And I like it.
This I know:
You are capable of wonders—
Even magic.
You are a story-breather
A tale-spinner,
A people-speaker,
A mind-reader,
A magic-wielder.
—
Lulled to sleepiness by the murmuring fir trees
Whose boughs frame the freckled sky,
I lie on their pungent needles,
My gaze paying homage to the moon.
My mind is not in Middle Earth or Narnia
But in my world,
Where the magic infuses nature and ourselves.
There is enough evidence of it in a single page of our writing.
Yet we dismiss it,
We redefine it,
We call it by other names,
Because it can be understood in our world.
But I say that our magic is the most powerful of all
Because it can be understood.
Our Creator gave us more than enough
To give life to our imaginations
And inspire our wonder.
I see the sad eyes behind your courageous smile,
Because the honesty leaves an aching bruise.
The raw and fierce are louder than the hope and joy,
And the throb in your ears overpowers the whisper you know.
You wander aimlessly on the cold, barren streets of writer’s block,
And nothing comes out on paper the way you want it to.
I read that tale of hardship,
And the tear that falls is for your hurting heart.
So when the sun blushes over the mountains,
My warm hand interlaces your graphite-smudged fingers
Over the broken fence and through the dew-strewn grass.
I see the dimples in your cheeks deepen,
And in the hush and birdsong,
Our whispers and laughs can be heard.
For a while, I see the world as you know it,
And you feel the wonder as I do.
After your soul can breathe again,
You close your eyes
And lie down in the silence beneath the fir trees,
And when I hear your soft sigh,
I slip back through the woods,
For I have a story to finish.
This is magic.
Emma Huckabee (aka Emma Starr) is a realistic idealist in love with moonlight, music, fireflies, stripy sweaters, beautiful words, and good conversations. She is intrigued by humanity’s fallen state and strives to mimic her Savior by hating sin and loving people. When Emma isn’t singing around the house, teaching and practicing piano, doing homework, procrastibaking, collecting books for her future book vault, reading an L. M. Montgomery novel in a corner, or playing board games with family and friends, she enjoys writing poetry. As a passionate believer in the power of art, Emma dreams of hosting creatively programmed educational concerts by mingling classical music with other art forms.
Emma, this is beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing. 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
How beautiful and thought provoking your poem is, Emma! A very satisfying read. Thank you for sharing so much of yourself in this lovely poem.
Thank you, dearest!
This captured my heart, Emma. I loved it! <3 Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Thank you so much! I’m so glad. 🙂
Wow – I absolutely love it! 😮 Thank you for writing it!
Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! <3
So lovely! Great work!
Your comments on Moonflower actually prompted me to write this poem. Thanks so much for guiding me toward more imagery!
Beautiful! I really like the detail. Great job, Emma!
Thank you!! 🙂
Emma!!! BEAUTIFUL job, sweet friend!!! Thank you so very much for sharing this amazing poem with us all :-). May God continue to bless you and all your writing projects!
~Ellen (aka Ellie)
Thank you so much, dear! I appreciate your support so much! *sends bunches of hugs and sunflowers*
Emma,
It makes my heart so happy to see your poetry on here! <3 This poem is a jewel, so wistful and deep. Your message was beautiful and true. And your poetry…it lived and breathed and was so…real. Love this so much! <3
You make me so happy!! I respect your taste in poetry and books SO much–you have no idea how much this means to me. <3 *hugs and love*
This is beautiful, thank you for telling me about this. You’re so creative ! <3
Aww, thank you! <3
This is so stunning! Thank you for sharing your beautiful talent! Never stop dreaming. 😉
Thank you so much, love! <3
This was wonderful. So rich, like I can drink it in slowly and savor every drop.
Ahh, that makes me so happy. Thank you, Alex!! 🙂