Erin Snedeker
Growing Pains

You come through the door confident,
Uncertain, laughing, worried, quietly
And with a great declaration
I smile at all of you
Hoping to know you
Hoping to punch through
The veil of strangerness,
Climb over the wall of small
Words and conversations
I am standing now,
But I remember sitting
Where you are
You do not yet know
How quickly it will
All happen, how quickly
You will be where I am.
Hopefully. In some other room,
In some other city, state, country.
I speak and you speak,
All in small words and
Conversations.
Words are why you are here,
Why I am here
To make your words grow.
Even if you want to keep
Your words small,
I will peel back the shade
I will water and feed
And shine sunlight
And like the reaching trees
So will your words grow.
Slowly, almost unnoticeably
But also, certainly.
You leave like a wave
Crashing against rock and shore.
A few sweet notes bid farewell
My feet hurt
My eyes and mind
Sink gently toward sleep.
Your growing pains
And mine. And
We will press upward again tomorrow.