Poet’s Corner
This week’s poet is Shari Paynter of Tonganoxie.
“In honor of graduations coming up, I thought it would be nice to submit the poem I wrote for my niece, Brooke,” Paynter wrote.
Brooke Theno graduated from Basehor-Linwood High School in 2006 and is now attending Hutchinson Community College, where she is majoring in fire science.
A Graduation Poem for My Niece Brooke
Where are you going dear Brooke?
Don’t hurry away so fast
I’m not going to let you off the hook
But this evening is upon us at last.
Forgive me for all the tears
That slip quietly down my face
For I’m thinking back over the years
To some other time and place.
I see through a nursery window
A baby girl with milk on her chin
Bright eyes shining with a glow
So cute that I just have to grin.
How tenderly we watched you grow
Each step along the way
And thrilled at all the changes
That came with each passing day.
What greater joy in all this world
And oh what sadness too
The laughter, the mischief, the tantrums and tears
A girl growing up must go through
And then, all too quickly
So it seemed to me
The sweet little girl slipped away
Replaced by a young lady named Brookie.
The future unlike the past
Unfolds as we live each day
Its sorrow, its joys, its laughter and tears
Is a path each of us must take our own way.
For as you journey through the years
With friends and loved ones old and new
I will always be with you in my thoughts
And I will always be there to comfort you.
With food.
— Shari Paynter