Little Tommy Summers was a gifted, happy boy From his first day upon the Earth, he was his parents’ joy He learned to walk quite early and his speech was so precocious That his parents loved to show him off and grew quite braggadocious They put him in a special school and marked his every grade Making each report card into a grand parade Little Tommy loved the sport, the attention and the praise. He studied, and he studied to continue basking in its rays. But then, as he proceeded from high school into college, Little Tommy soon found out that there were others with more knowledge. To falter, to fail, and to fall from his high perch Was more than Tommy could endure and left his stomach in a lurch. Paralyzed, Tommy’s bright hopes faded, for he could not bring himself to try. In shame, the bright son sought escape from his parents’ wetted eyes. You were given all! Your should have flown, but instead, you fizzled out. What a waste, all those years, and all that we did tout. Little Tommy’s story may be sad indeed, but it is not quite finished, as you soon will see. For little Tommy met Marie, a girl with dark brown eyes. Who cared not for today’s results, but only that you try. Marie had grown up in a home where practice was the rule. A C could be forgiven if you learned and grew in school. She loved to run, and she was fast, but in her every race The only one she raced was her, never looking back. She gave Tommy permission to run his own race too. Come win or loss, what e’er the cost, all she said was “I love you.” So Little Tommy tried again, and learned to love the race. And once again, that bright boy shone, no matter how he placed.
