if i could keep you little

If I Could Keep You Little

Written by:  Marianne Richmond

If I could keep you little,

I'd hum you lullabies.

But then I'd miss you singing 

your concert's big surprise.

If I could keep you little,

I'd hold your hand everywhere.

But then I'd miss you knowing,

"I can go...you stay there."

If I could keep you little, 

I'd kiss your cuts and scrapes.

But then I'd miss you 

learning from your own mistakes.

If I could keep you little,

I'd strap you in real tight.

But then I'd miss you swinging

from your treetop heights

If I could keep you little,

I'd decide on matching clothes.

But then I'd miss you choosing

dots on top and stripes below.

If I could keep you little,

I'd cut your bread into shapes.

But then I'd miss you finding,

"Hey! I like ketchup with my grapes!"

If I could keep you little,

I'd tell you stories every night.

But then I'd miss you reading

the words you've learned by sight.

If I could keep you little,

I'd push you anywhere.

But then I'd miss you feeling

your speed from here to there!

If I could keep you little,

I'd pick for you a friend or two.

But then I'd miss you finding

friends you like who like you too!

If I could keep you little,

we'd finger paint our art.

But then I'd miss you creating

stories from your heart.

If I could keep you little,

I'd push your ducky float.

But then I'd miss you feeling,

the wind behind summer's boat.

If I could keep you little,

we'd nap in our fort midday.

But then I'd miss you sharing

adventures from camp away.

If I could keep you little,

I'd fly you with my feet.

But then I'd miss you seeing,

sky and clouds from your seat.

If I could keep you little,

I'd keep you close to me.

But then I'd miss you growing

into who you're meant to be.