he gets it from me
my oldest son
wakes up cheerful like the sun
ready to start his day
an early bird like his mother
an open book
you know what's on his mind
asking questions
sharing facts
his mouth is always moving
while he gestures with his hands
sensitive to hurts
tearful at times
kind of clumsy
rare flashes of temper
he needs closeness
with a dimple in his chin
and dimples beside his grin
leaving chaos in his wake
so much like his mother
I wrote this poem for my oldest son earlier this month, but I didn't have a picture to illustrate it with. Then I remembered this self portrait that T.J.B. drew in 4th grade using colored pencil in October of 2009. I nearly added an astericks (*) after "kind of clumsy" because my husband made up an anacronym for the phenomenon. MCG = Mommy's Clumsy Gene. It's amazing to me the things that are hereditary that have nothing to do with DNA.
A companion poem, written for my youngest son, is, "he gets it from you (A.T.B.)"
http://my.opera.com:80/jbaird/blog/2011/05/23/he-gets-it-from-you-a-t-b
© 2011 Janean Baird, Turquoise Tangles
Turquoise Tangles 
Anonymous writes:Janean,I really like this set of three poems! They fit together in style and subject. Your cheerful and honest recording of family life is much needed.Consider making a chapbook on this topic. I also think this is related to the "Everything Goes With Camo" book.Aunt Janet
Thank you, Aunt Janet. They were fun to write, about My Three Muses, whom I am lucky enough to live with and call My Family. Perhaps they will be included in My Someday Book, "Camo Matches Everything: Lessons From My Sons". That feels "just right". ~ Janean
Thank you for reading these poems about my children, Zena. (I saw your note on A.T.B.'s poem too.) He really is a lot like me, with plenty from his dad to keep him interesting and quite macho. 🙂
yes indeed very colorful and cheerful drawing from oldest son…lovely! and it says like you…:yes: