Monday, March 15, 2010

Prayers for my own blueberry girl...

Blueberry Girl
Ladies of light
and Ladies of darkness
and Ladies of Never-you-mind,
This is a prayer for a Blueberry girl.

First, may you ladies be kind.
Keep her from spindles and sleeps at sixteen,
Let her stay waking and wise.

Nightmares at three or bad husbands at thirty,
these will not trouble her eyes.

Dull days at forty,
false friends at fifteen--let her have brave days and truth,
Let her go places that we’ve never been,
trust and delight in her youth.

Ladies of grace and ladies of favor
and ladies of merciful night,
This is a prayer for a blueberry girl.
Grant her your clearness of sight.

Words can be worrisome,
people complex,
motives and manners unclear,
grant her the wisdom to choose her path right,
free from unkindness and fear.

Let her tell stories
and dance in the rain,
somersault, tumble and run,
her joys must be high as sorrows are deep.

Let her grow like a weed in the sun.

Ladies of paradox, ladies of measure,
ladies of shadow that fall,
This is a prayer for a blueberry girl.
Words written clear on a wall.

Help her to help herself, help her to stand,
Help her to lose and to find.
Teach her we’re only as big as our dreams.
Show her that fortune is blind.
Truth is a thing she must find for herself,
precious and rare as a pearl.

Give her all these and a little bit more:
Gifts for a blueberry girl.
(Neil Gaiman, 2009)

6 comments:

Meadowlark said...

I'd never seen this. :) Am sharing it with MY BabyGirl, who at 24 doesn't always fit onto my lap!

Marit said...

beautiful!

Soozcat said...

Mr. Gaiman never disappoints, does he?

A lovely prayer to the Fates for an even lovelier little girl. She is fortunate to have a great start in life with a great mom.

Suburbia said...

Lovely :)

And wonderfully illustrated

CM said...

So precious!

Natalie said...

What a wonderful post! Those are the exact feelings I have for my own blueberry girl! She's always had a mind of her own, so I just hope it parallels what my mind wishes for her. Especially as a teenager since I haven't figured out how to get out of that stage in life. Still have over a decade to go though, so maybe I'll find a solution before then!