I’ve looked
through
so many
windows
since the moment
you were birthed
into light
through the
glass view finder
of my video camera
shaking,
from tears
of delight
or through
thicker glass
at the
hospital
to your tiny
crib
at a Santa
Monica sight
Or our stucco
home windows
on Curson Avenue,
through tall
bamboo curtains -
it was
perfectly right – but now.
Look here -
think about
the stain glass windows
on our front
door -
where a tiny
boy crawls his way
to standing
the windows
of my eyes
demanding to
capture all the joy
that was
there for you
crawling
through Christmas mornings
tracking
your sister – mister,
you were
something to behold.
And the days
race by for me
the
caterpillar becomes a butterfly
young and
handsome, beautiful and loving -
the window
of the car, dropping you at school.
Then the vista
widens to Van Nuys
when we
create out of heart – Valley Glen
we build a
tree house, we paint graffiti,
we make our
own windows to look into
our future
but we don’t see it all –
we have an
adventure for a back yard
and a wonderful
pool and some fine friends
- we have
what no one can take away
from us –
some extraordinary memories
– we swing and
swim and live.
And there
are the round windows of jets
where we see
clouds and reflections of
Japan, and the
hotels in Mexico
for all of
us to see through.
They are
magic – and forbidden fruit.
The windows
of suburbans
on cross
country trips –
from motel
rooms and funky places
making funny
faces along the way
we played
and had pure fun.
And oh the skies
are gray with rain
sometimes –
but not today.
And oh the
skies are full of sun, and hope
yes, today –
and we know,
things will
always change
And O, the sunset
is warm and gold
today – and
we know,
things will
always change.
I’ve looked
through
so many
windows
since that
day
you birthed
into light.
Seen what I
have seen
learned a
few things
it is not
how many windows
one looks
through,
as each one
is different.
Each window
has
something to say to us
it seems – for
it is what we take away
from what we
see in that window
that makes
the difference
that is key.
One window
view may perhaps be
even more
beautiful
than the
last,
but the
message is not the same
Oh I’ve seen
grand sunlit vistas – high above the earth
clouds
forever, stars and painted skies
and learned
nothing -
yet I’ve
seen through smaller windows,
less ornate,
and simple views
of no seeming significance
and learned
everything.
These are
the windows of our changing landscape
the changing
world
they are
yours to discover, inherit,
love if you
will – touch in some way.
There are some
covered by thick glass
others open
to a cool breeze
windows are
your
places of
discovery -
an open tent
flap in Africa
a small room
in Rabat, Morocco
an apartment
in Santa Fe
or Brooklyn
NY – or a beach view
in Venice –
something simple,
seemingly
insignificant
where you
may learn everything
from the
view – through
an open
window.
Doug Claybourne – for DRC my most beloved Son –
05.20.2013 on the occasion of your 25th B Day.
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