Re-Inventing the Wheel

"Re-Inventing the Wheel" -For LilyAnne Miranda

She picked up a cup today--
With a thumb on the back-lip, and her whole palm,
Her body pressed against the shining roll.

She planted a flag on her toes yester-day--
Even now she revisits their coven shores,
Plumbing depthes and
Sending her fumbling conquistadors.

I always believed there were cavemen;
Agog at a tumbling tree,
Though they hacked at it with rocks and then,
They stare, surprised, amazed,
Like she does, at a cup she no longer holds.

Captain Kirk--or his alien counterpart--
probably watched Prometheus sneak from
Vulcan's smoking chambers.
What were in the Captain's eyes as he watched this
bold, sweaty Greek steal fire from the gods?
I watch her like that.
She may one day surpass us all at quantum physics,
or at such poetry that confuses the mystics,
But today, she pushes a block along--
I see her wonder at the shape that will make it roll.

-Youssef Sleiman (2006)

Well, that felt good. I had that one brewing for nearly a week--even though she really did just discover her toes the other day.
I can give myself a guilt trip about everything, but lately I've given myself a tough one about having a daughter. It is such an incredible experience, and she sparks new thoughts in my head each day. What a treasure if I could plumb those depths! A treasure for her, a treasure for anyone else looking ahead at a daughter or remembering back. But, even though I'm a careful observer, I've been lazy. That's what I guilt-trip about: that I'm being a lazy observer.
But it finally came out in this poem. My own mother said I should take careful notes, journal everything. Don't let my laziness gainsay her advice! That is a great way to do it, but I've not yet developed the discipline to write all the thoughts I have down. (Some of you will say, good riddance!) It feels good, in spite of my own guilt trip, to say that I have been observing, storing up my own thoughts. What good news it is to think these inspirations are never lost!
Still--there is much gain. What if I did dedicatedly write these thoughts everyday?