Something from Nothing

drawing by Natalie Killman Meggs

I watched your little hands pull at the thick wooden puzzle pieces that sat in front of you. The colorful shapes were a stark contrast to the warm glow of the antique table top. Plastic buttons helped you grasp the pieces as you looked at each one… studying the shapes.

You would look at the puzzle board and back to the puzzle piece and gently guide it into place. You were always rewarded with cheers and laughter… you would clap your hands and smile with joy.

You progressed to crayons and finger paints. You would create shapes and words where there was only a blank sheet of paper. We would draw in the dirt in the yard… we would make sandcastles at the lake in the heat of the summer while the cool water lapped across our skin.

You would collect cutoffs of wood and arrange them into something new. You could take a piece of scrap lumber like an artist’s canvas and create something from nothing… drawing what came to your mind. Shells, twigs, cloth and anything within reach were only building blocks to your imagination.

And you set your goals on higher things… the goals of a young woman reaching out into the world. I love you for who you were. I love you for who you are and I love you for who you will be… and all the time you are creating something from what only your mind can see.

                                                        Shannon R Killman