To My Nana & Papa

Come hold me,
for your arms
keep me free from all harm.

Come play with me,
for these legs of mine
need to unwind.

Come read to me,
for my mind is ready to take the plunge
to absorb the world like a sponge.

Come watch me,
not from afar
for you are my shining star.

Come teach me,
in the school of your love
that comes from above.

Come comfort me,
for I thought you were too young to get old
and too bold to fold.

Come pray with me,
though we are a world apart
you’ll forever be in my heart.

By Deacon James O’Connell

(Deacon James O’Connell serves at Our Lady of the Springs Parish in French Lick and Our Lord Jesus Christ the King Parish in Paoli.) †

The Criterion