Just to Make Sure

a poem by Sally Meyer


Just To Make Sure


He was perfect
thats what they told me
so I unwrapped him gently
counted ten fingers
ten little toes. . . .
just to be sure.

When I brought him home
I rocked him softly,
told him who he would be
when he grew up
and I wrote it down
just to make sure.

As he grew his smile
used to light up the room
and his eyes were warm
like a grey dove, and I
whispered how much I loved him
and I told him again
just to make sure.

When they told me he was different
that he would always be so,
I cried in the dark hours
turned my face to the wall.
I called his name in the morning
and touched his face softly
just to make sure.


They told me he was perfect
that day when I bore him,
I counted his toes, fingers
and whispered his name,
But isn't it so that all children are perfect?
for in them lies the innocence and
purity of heart.
And we who can raise them are so simply blessed.
Each moment is treasured, each day a sweet gift.
So each day that God' grants me,
I hold my son closely, laugh with him, cry for him
and whisper a prayer.
And I tell him I love him and that he is perfect


just to make sure.

c. sally meyer 2001