A Beautiful Poem for a Beautiful Baby

We have been home for over a week now and I am slowly but surely getting back on the computer.  Since Louisa's arrival I have gotten a lot of e-mails and it has taken me a while to catch up on reading them all.    I found this gem of a poem in the slew of e-mails that I have been going through.  A fellow Courage to Teach facilitator, Susan Nodurft sent me this lovely poem welcoming Louisa.  I like the poem so much I thought I would share it on here so that you could all enjoy it:

As a Child Enters the World

As I enter my new family,

May they be delighted

At how their kindness

Comes into blossom.

Unknown to me and them,

May I be exactly the one

To restore in their forlorn places

New vitality and promise.

May the hearts of others

Hear again the music

In the lost echoes

Of their neglected wonder.

If my destiny is sheltered,

May the grace of this privilege

Reach and bless the other infants

Who are destined for torn places.

If my destiny is bleak,

May I find in myself

A secret stillness

And tranquility

Beneath the turmoil.

May my eyes never lose sight

Of why I have come here,

That I never be claimed

By the falsity of fear

Or eat the bread of bitterness.

In everything I do, think,

Feel, and say,

May I allow the light

Of the world I am leaving 

To shine through and carry me home.

-John O'Donohue

Thanks Susan for such a great poem!