So, I'm a grandad. Felix arrived in February, when I started this poem; only now completing it or at least editing it further. It's all colour for the little fellow now, but seeing him in February, it really struck me how extraordinary the process of human growth and development is.
Welcoming Felix
Well, Felix, you finally made it. How small you are, sleeping,
half-waking to a world of black and white, soon enough to be colour.
Exploring it in your mother’s face; later the room, the house, the garden;
all the time gathering to yourself the world within grasp.
That growth, from the cockle you are now to the man coming;
let it be flush with the eagerness to experience life’s richness,
may it ease you into the heart of happiness.
So, Felix,
with your sight still forming; may the world come, settle gently around you.
I wish you the love that will make it easy, safe passage through the days
and the humour to break the backs of any hardships you may meet.
xxx
