Whenever Convictions Are Strong

“Less than impressive,” my listener replied, when I asked his opinion one day. “Nothing I’d bother to post on the web, or to publish,” he went on to say. But what I’d just read was a poem my daughter had written when seven years old, And...given he’d no way of knowing the factors surrounding the story it told... I understood his reaction, of course, ‘cause what she was meaning to say Was typically something a child her age would struggle to clearly convey. To him what she’d penned --- a cute little piece that a kid of just seven would write - Who knew - it’s the size of the fight in the dog...not the size of the dog in the fight - Was actually a boast on the guts that it took for her Yorkie...of barely three pounds... To gamble its life to protect whom she loved from assault by much heftier hounds Was merely a youngster espousing her puppy’s devotion to save her from harm... A canine the size of a baby raccoon that she’d carry around on her arm! But for knowing that Yorkies, because of their size, aren’t known for the people they save, And puzzled by hearing her claim that her puppy was - ‘fiercely defensive’ and ‘brave’... My listener had simply dismissed what her poem had tried to assert as -- “deceiving”, Assuming their love for each other the reason explaining her actually believing That - when a young Doberman quickly retreated - in fear - from my daughter’s caress - The flashing of fangs that her puppy’d displayed - to fend off her loved ones duress - Was proof beyond doubt that, regardless of size...whenever convictions are strong... No confrontation is more than it’s worth…no battle too hard or too long. Madelyne’s dog was as brave as a lion - while barely the size of a squirrel, And knowing that sweet little bundle of fur had defended my sweet little girl, I was OK with the fact that my listener’s - ‘interpretation’ - was wrong, ‘Cause risks are worth taking - regardless the cost - whenever convictions are strong. PS: I have a few books & 4 audio-CDs of verse available @ writerofbooks.com.