A Child's Easel

A CHILD’S EASEL We bought it used at an art store And cleaned it with soap and water. Then stood it on the living room floor: A child’s easel for our daughter. You would draw on it with a marker, Or write messages we could read; The letters were always starker If there was an important need. It straddled the dog’s kennel cage Throughout seven years of growing, Your knowledge we could always gauge By the drawings you were showing. We never wiped it’s white board clean Of the creative things you drew, All those years till you were thirteen; That’s what a parent’s pride will do. But now that you’re growing older The easel stands alone and bare. You’ve given it the cold shoulder And quit drawing things to share. Soon we’ll give it to someone new Because now it’s mainly ignored, So someone can write notes just like you, And draw pictures on its board.