She is four and you realize
quickly you have no idea
what four is like, a person
looking for herself, uncertain
what she will find and fearless
enough not to care, always curious.
You know these days cannot last,
that she will progress at a speed
that is dizzying and you don’t
want them to end, for memories
often age badly, and can slip away.
But in those moments she
makes you forget your own
advancing age, and the pain
you feel when you realize your
grandchildren are almost closer
to having than being that little girl.