For Megan and Kaecey

You came to us in tender childhood -Shy, knowing nothing of us or our world.We thought then, and we do now,Your grandma and I,That such courage takes the breath awayAnd gives us pause to question age and valour:For deeds of courage on a battlefieldMedals are pinned on a panting breast;And the bravest soldier, taught to obey,Follows the flag and the desperate crowd.But as two small girls you were alone,Cut off from your past and givenAn uncertain present and an unknown future.But you faced, without fear, the future andEmbraced your daddy who gave you a loveWhich cannot be measured, a hope whichMany would envy and can’t be denied.

So now we watch and marvel as two girls,Embraced by Anna as her very own,Blossom, thrive and flower as her boys.We do not welcome old age, but timeIs time and he will have his due –He is a thief who steals slowly, you will find,But whatever he takes, he cannot takeYou from us – your family.