I received an email from a precious friend asking me to rejoice with her about the birth of her first grandchild. It prompted the memory of this poem that I wrote almost five years ago after I had appointed myself to be the adopted grandmother for the coming baby of my Australian co-worker. Since this child already had a grandmother in the area and another in Australia I used the name Besta, which is grandmother in Norwegian. The instant love described in the poem became a reality for me when I held her in the hospital just a few hours after her birth. (Be sure to read to the end).
I Loved You Right Away
I thought I’d grow to love you
When I learned how you’d been knit.
I thought I’d need to know you
And how you and I would fit.
I thought I’d need to see you smile
And maybe dry your tears
To learn how I could make you laugh
And take away your fears.
I thought we’d play together
And maybe read a book
We’d watch the fish and catch a frog
And maybe learn to cook.
Love, I thought, would be a seed
That I would guard and shower
Until one day it sprouted forth
A bud, and then a flower.
But, love for you had other plans
There’s nothing I can say
‘cept when my eyes first saw you
I loved you right away.
From Besta Roselyn 10/06/06
PS: And so I’ll say I love you
And not try to explain
For God has opened heavens gates
With unexpected rain.
Some day you’ll call me Besta
Then we’ll ponder, you and I
And together thank Our Father
Who won’t need to ask us why!
She calls me Besta now. (8/11/11) I took a picture of her with my cat and I asked how the two of them were the same. She said, “We are both yours.” I rested in the arms of joy.
Thanks for sharing such precious moments of reality Besta, love you both Pop Chapman