Have you ever held a baby in your arms and just looked at them?
Not even 5 months old and they look at you with those eyes
And you make sounds or words and see them do their baby smile
Sometimes if you keep trying you just might hear their baby laugh
It’s hard to describe those moments but simply pure happiness
As I hold this baby in my arms seeing them in glee I can’t help but wonder
I wonder about the other little ones out there in the world who aren’t smiling
The ones who are being left to cry while their caregiver gives no cares
The ones who are hurt by monsters worse than the ones in children’s books
There are those being abandoned in places with hope someone finds them
How could anyone harm such defenseless little beings? Why do they do this?
And then I think of the parents who are not smiling for a different reason
Parents who are told that their infant will never see them or anything else
Mothers who find out their child won’t be able to hear them say their name
Fathers who discover something different physically or mentally in their baby
There are even parents who only see their child briefly before life says no more
All of these and more I can feel as if I’m right beside them going through it
The pain, the joy, the anxiety, the wonder, the hope that comes with being a parent
As I gaze at this baby in front of me I notice that smile again beam at me
And I can’t help but wish the best for him and all the other infants out there
Because there will be some who get picked on in school, and others will cry
Some will fall into the wrong kind of crowds which you hope yours never finds
A few might get into fights or might fall into peer pressure to be who they’re not
It’s hard to tell what they’ll become as you look at their smile and hear that laugh
If only I could be there to help all the little ones who are struggling in this world
The ones fighting for their lives, the ones who won’t see or walk, the ones forgotten
But I can’t yet there are others out there who have the same compassion as I to be there
Even though this baby that I hold is not of my own, rest assured I will be there for them
And if the day comes when it is my turn, and I see their little smile and hear their laugh
I will whisper to them “I will never abandon you, I will never stop loving you”. . .
Novatourist 