There was a girl went forth each day;

And the first object she glanced at, that object she became;

And that object became part of her for a day, or a moment, or for a lifetime,

Or stretching an eternity.

The early death of a parent became part of this child,

And the missing mother, and the sisterly punches, and the tear of

A broken family,

The stepdad she finally loved, and the tiny golden puppy, and the house tainted by drinking

And cigarettes,

And the tan Buick with peeling roof, or the smell of fishing at dusk,

And the feelings of sadness on the cold nights alone—the lonely heart crying out for mommy,

And the lost feeling and hatred for the real daddy she would never know—all became part of her. 

The grandparents that loved her and the new sanctuary became part of her;

Cool clear water of a swimming pool, and the pink and purple buds of Crepe Myrtles,

And the small three bed room home of her father, and the white bunny they let her keep for a day,

And the black Lab that stayed by her side until the day he died, and the friends who moved away,

And stumbling out on the walk with roller blades in the dead of winter,

And seeing the pain of losing a second son, and needing closure from a mother,

Became part of her and followed her whither she went.

The volunteer work at an arena, leading children on horseback;

The instructor and friend—patient her eyes and words, loving and

Gentle when one needed an embrace;

The animal, strong legged, willing, graceful, majestic, powerful;

The endless evenings, the sweat and tears, the bruised body,

The frustration and rage, the taste of defeat– the bitter determination and desire,

Longing to have something true, pure—the need for an unadulterated being–

The sense of loss and need, the voice reaching for a soul, the magnet

Pulling at a heart—the reading with no understanding, the breezy afternoon

In a pasture; the feeling of peace and salvation,

A receiving of Christ Jesus the Lord,

The closure searched for and finally reached, the feeling of wholeness and

Warmth, the security found in a church;

These became part of that girl who went forth each and every day, who now goes, and will always

Go forth each and every day.