My Daughter Is Not Afraid (1996)

My Daughter Is Not Afraid

My daughter is not afraid of lightning

I find this strange,

As it has struck her once already

Perhaps she knows it does not strike

In the same place twice,

Or have the old wives been telling too many tales?

If I had been there with Jesus

When he walked on water,

Casting my nets and talking about the storm,

Wondering if my boat would capsize,

I would have thanked him for giving me faith

I would have talked to him about fear and lightning

I would have rowed the boat ashore

We survive and yet we continue to fight

The pioneer must always look for the rattlesnake

We must break the ground,

And plant in the fields

That have received the storms,

And drive the horses to the grazing place

I love you Mrs. Scooby

(written for my four-year-old daughter Emily upon her successful completion of her chemotherapy treatment for Wilms' Tumor, 1996)