A Dear Family Friend is a writer and oh how I envy his creative talent.  I am including one of his poems called Not Yet For You below, but you should stop by and check out his other poems.

Not Yet For You

A perplexed penguin wanted to know
What there was to see beyond his ice floe
How much else did the world have to show
Beyond where his father had not allowed him to go?

What else was there besides ice and water
Herring and seal and occasional sea otter
whale and shark and beautiful puffin?

“Please tell me it’s not just a big nothin’!”

So he stepped out to the edge to see
What else was in that big, vast sea
But the water was deep, deep as could be
Clear on top, but then dark, black and murky.

And just by chance, his father could see
He shouted:
“That’s not yet for you. Leave it to me!”

But perplexed penguins are a curious lot
Often unsatisfied with the things that they’ve got
And so he dipped his little toe
Then flipped a flipper into the water below
And all at once, before he knew what he’d done
He was under the water.
He couldn’t see the sun!

Down he went until all became dark.
And he couldn’t help but remember his father’s remark.

“That’s not yet for you. Leave it to me!”

The little penguin began to despair.
What might happen? Would he run out of air?
But before he knew it, someone was there.
Someone who loved him, someone who cared.

His father took him up top, and sat him down on the ice.
“I’m just going to say this once,” he said, “and I’ll try to be nice.”

“There is plenty of time for the deep, murky dark.
Time for the herring, the whale and the shark.
But now you are small, and you must stay by me.
Until you are grown, and much stronger, you see?
And then when you explore, I won’t worry so
Because I’ll know you’re okay beyond the ice floe.”

“So, while there are wonderful things that you want to know
And wonderful places that you’d like to see
It’s not yet for you.
Please leave it to me.”

The perplexed penguin felt slightly less befuddled
He wanted more, but still wished to be coddled and cuddled
And so from then on, he heeded his father’s advice
And dreamed of the day he was allowed off the ice.

© 2010 Jonathan Hauer and mcgarragal.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jonathan Hauer, Eric L McGarragal and 5 out of 6… with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.