Skip to main content

Dinosaur Bones & Other Childish Dreams - original poem about Lorna

Dinosaur Bones and Other Childish Dreams
I threw away an old bone my granddaughters found while visiting last week. When mommy and daddy came to get them, little Lorna couldn’t wait to show them her dinosaur bone. The look on her little face when I told her I had thrown it away will haunt me forever. I learned my lesson that day. I will never destroy a child’s dream again, even if my coffee table gets covered with “dinosaur bones”.

The Dinosaur Bone

While playing in the yard last week she found an old bleached bone;
She brought it to me, so excited her little eyes just shone.
“This came from a dinosaur” she said. You’ve never seen such pride;
It was the find of her life for a four year old, her brown eyes open wide.

As the day wore on she laid it down; Other things got her attention.
I found it on my coffee table and decided not to mention
That it was left over from table scraps we'd had some weeks before
When a hungry dog had wandered by and stood outside our door.

My husband., feeling sorry for him , had grabbed a pork chop bone
From the table where we had eaten when he heard the poor dog’s moan.
When bedtime came and she recalled the excitement of her day
She went to look for her dinosaur bone but I had thrown it away.

Her chocolate eyes welled up with tears, her heart was no longer gay,
It was only a bone in the garbage can but I had thrown her dream away.
Our little ones are so precious; We must guard their childish dreams;
For growing up soon takes its toll as they learn life’s not all it seems.

So let them keep their dinosaur bones, let them be our treasure, too.
Imagination is a wonderful thing, It’s all in your point of view.
A pork chop bone or a fossil find, either one will do,
When seen through the eyes of a little child the beauty will still come through.

Copyright 2004 by Straight From The Hart

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

COMMUNION ON THE MOON

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. (Melody Beattie) Americans need a day dedicated to gratitude. I have noticed that in the lineup of most of our holidays that Thanksgiving is perhaps the one least given over to secularism - the one we still observe in a traditional fashion. We need it to keep our focus clear and to teach our children what it means to be thankful for family, friendship and faith. We need a time to gather around the table with extended family and enjoy turkey and dressing and gravy, two kinds of potatoes, cranberries, hot rolls, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie and whipped cream. We need it, not for the calories, but to create an awareness that there are those who don’t have those blessings, because in the hectic pace of our everyday lives we tend to forget those in need. Family and food are important, but above all else, Americans need a rededication to our faith. Faith brought the pilgrims to the ne...

ANNIE, THE CAT'S MEOW

  I first met Annie back in February 2004 after Milan told me to let him know what I wanted for for Valentine’s Day and he promised would get it for me no matter what it was. He has often joked that he should have have put some conditions on that. But he didn’t, and so I headed straight to the Humane Society animal shelter. It had been two long years since we had put our beloved Maine Coon cat to sleep, a big pile of what appeared to be nothing but fur, but had a huge heart hidden inside. We had named him Ollie in honor of Col. Oliver North who was our news hero at the time. I entered the cat compound at the Humane Society. There were only two cats inside, a brown tabby who ran to the other side of the pen away from me, and a little black and white girl who came running over to me and when I picked her up, she snuggled her head under my chin and began to purr. It was love at first sight. She was new there and they had not given her a name so I called her Annie. She was alway...
  THE TASTES OF SUMMER Tender green onion blades,  tipped at the end With a white marble bulb, their flavors do blend With soup or a sandwich, I do recommend For these are the tastes of summer. Cucumbers growing green, awaiting their turn For slicing with vinegar and sugar, I yearn So cool and refreshing, my praises they earn These too are the tastes of summer. Sun ripened tomatoes, So juicy and sweet A smidgeon of salt, such a heavenly treat Just thinking of them makes my heart skip a beat A favorite taste of summer. Hot corn on the cob with the tantalizing name Of peaches and cream, it’s in my hall of fame From one end to the other of the cob I exclaim That this is the true taste of summer. Green beans, new potatoes, cooked up in a pan Just simmering slowly all day is my plan Some salt, bacon drippings, there’s no better than The taste of fresh beans in the summer. Green lettuce wilted down with some crisp bacon bits Add some vinegar, and sugar, it’s always a hit I have to a...