Love You Forever

Love You Forever

The mother sings to her sleeping baby:
"I'll love you forever
I'll love you for always
As long as I'm living
My baby you'll be."

She still sings the same song
when her baby has turned into
a fractious 2-year-old,
a slovenly 9-year-old,
and then a raucous teen.

So far so ordinary--but
this is one persistent lady.

When her son grows up and leaves home,
she takes to driving across town
with a ladder on the car roof,
climbing through her grown son's window,
and rocking the sleeping man in the same way.

Then, inevitably, the day comes
when she's too old and sick
to hold him,
and the roles are at last reversed.

Each stage is illustrated
by one of Sheila McGraw's
comic and yet poignant pastels.

Ages: 4 to 8
Color throughout