Let Me Smile Comments

I read this again and am even more impressed with this later reading. It's probably because I've read quite a few of your poems by now and I'm familiar with your voice. This means when you express ideas you've expressed previously you're building on earlier strengths and that gives credibility. Or you're opening up new areas of experience and I'm willing to follow you because there's a trust between the writer (you) and the reader (me) .

This is a lovely poem. The way you capture the pure sensibility of a child, still naïve and innocent, is remarkable. But equally remarkable is the way in which this poem suggests the changes that come with growth. And as you well know, the changes that begin in adolescence and keep happening... are often troubling. We simply can't keep smiling. I first encountered you in your comments on the Emerson poem. Emerson wrote (I'm paraphrasing) : No person after reaching maturity can wake up every morning happy. That's where destiny takes over - we have to create the happiness which comes spontaneously to a child. But you know this already, your thoughts already embrace these realities and many more!