the toothless grin poem


The older my children get, the faster I feel time slipping through my fingers.  They are getting so big and learning much.  I think of myself as a mom of little children, but the reality is that this year, my little children will turn 5 and 7.  Sigh.

I penned this poem with these thoughts in mind, facing the gap in my son’s grin.  Loosing teeth, yes, a milestone of one’s childhood.

The Toothless Grin

There is a gap in my boy’s grin
A sign of passing time
For I remember long ago
When he was only mine.

A time when it was he and I
To last the whole day long
No school, no schedule, no teeth at all
Our happy freedom song.

But up he grew without my say
It seemed to go so fast
The play, the fun of two of us
Oh don’t forget the past.

The baby toys, the beating pans
He did it all the time
An now he reads and writes so well
It changes on a dime.

So off to school and off to play
It isn’t just with me
My baby, he is growing up
Big teeth are coming, see?

Those teeth will witness many things
Of life, of love, of friends
And I will think back to the days
When playtime had no end.

We still have many years to go
Lord willing, we will try
To count the days and treasure times
And draw each other nigh.

So peace be to the whole day through
And quiet down our strife
For family time is precious time
To prize throughout our life.

There is a gap in my boy’s grin
A sign of passing time
For I remember long ago
When he was only mine.

 Written by Kristen Summers