Dear Sandy & Caroline, I'm so sorry to hear about your grandson. If there's any comfort to be had in this poem/song I wrote, please read it with the love intended.

Not Mine For Long
Barbara Shaw, 2004

Not mine for long, I always knew
Those two bright cheeks and smiling eyes
So wise, so piercing to my soul
Would one day grow forever old
And move beyond my range of view.

In little steps in little ways
The days went by and I was sure
Those pure and joyful times would fly
And one day we would say goodbye
And move on to the coming phase.

Moving out to change the world
To learn and play and push the edge
To jump the hedge of home and heart
And find new routes and roads to start
To view the tapestry unfurled.

Becoming person of the earth
Whose worth is yet to be displayed
Who stayed not longer than a flash
With us whose memories are ash
That rose in triumph at the birth.

Moving out and quickly gone
Drawn to the ultimate design
Not mine for long, I always knew
Yet mine forever, always true
Moving out and moving on.