tip toe through the tulips...

i first planted

tulips

at our home...

in south euclid

back in the fall

of nineteen eighty eight

they were beautiful

that first year

the next august

we delivered sarah

she arrived with an unexpected

extra chromosome

and all of a sudden

tulips

took on a new meaning

a few years earlier

a woman named

emily perl kingsley

had written a poem

about the shock

of learning your child has

down syndrome

she likened it to going
on a trip

to holland when you

thought you were

heading to italy

i didn't want to go to

italy or holland

so for a short while

i hated tulips

then something wonderful

happened

i feel madly and deeply

in love with sarah

and tulips too

but as life evolved

so did the deer

that were multiplying

faster than rabbits

in our first ring suburb

they ate all the tulips

every last one

thirty years after first

planting those bulbs

i started over

in a new home

nearer the country

i was hopeful

yet realistic

i could hardly contain

my enthusiasm

when i first

spotted sprouts

early in april

then the buds started to appear

followed by flowers

each morning

there seems to be more

and more

tonight

i took jackson out

with me

the sun was shinning

perfectly

and off in the distance

of the flower patch

you can see
sarah's angel

so appropriately

placed

with the tulips

in our new home
new beginnings
with a healthy dose
of gratitude