What Became of the Child?

What Became of the Child?               May 31, 2013

By John W. Vander Velden

What became of the child I knew?  Surely time’s passing insufficient…could it be I have missed the years?  For a disconnect exists between my eyes and heart…what I see and what I feel.  I am unable to fully accept the truth known, wishing to hold the small hand once more.  Where are the tiny fingers that assembled blocks into new creations…that pushed trucks and trains across the floor?

What became of the child that stared with awe, at the star filled sky…that held my hand tightly as we faced the ocean’s waves?  What has become of the one I gently tucked in not so long ago?  Where have I been…how did I miss it all?  For he is no more.  Replaced by one so straight and tall…one that come and goes…slipping in and out of my life…but never from my heart.

What became of the child that walked on unsteady legs…grinning at the achievement…the one with fearful hands gripping the handlebars, while I ran alongside?  Now with keys in his hand, he moves about far and wide.  I wish him safety as he ventures out, knowing the dangers all around, and say a prayer for his protection.  With eyes on the clock, my ears listening for the first sounds that ease my heart at last.

What became of the child that I drove to school…to classes and extracurricular requirements?  The waist high boy standing among others, waiting impatiently for each day to end.  When did he merit the gown and mortarboard?  Standing among his peers, yet apart, for I see no others.  Surely my heart swells with pride as I see this young man…all his accomplishments…his awards…the world that lays before him, awaiting his conquest…yet part of me wonders.  What became of the child?

(308 Words)