[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11959]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             METAMORPHOSIS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goode) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GOODE. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to read a poem by Molly 
Brown. Molly is a 13-year-old who suffers from cerebral palsy, and she 
is the daughter of a college professor at Sweet Briar and his wife. She 
read this poem at an Adaptive Ski event for injured soldiers from Iraq 
and Afghanistan that was held at Wintergreen in Nelson County in my 
district.
  Commander William L. Shade of Nelson County American Legion Post 17 
sent me this poem, and I want to share it with the United States House 
of Representatives.
  The poem is entitled ``Metamorphosis.''

     For every soldier who lost something in Iraq:
     What do I say to those
     Who have looked time's end in the eye
     And faced it, heads raised,
     With their own eyes open
     Not afraid to fear?
     What comfort can I offer those
     Who lost the life they knew,
     And must begin again
     With eyes that see
     A world transformed?
     How do I greet the boy
     Who donned an Army jacket
     And stepped on a bus,
     Ending his childhood
     Before his time?
     I speak slowly,
     Knowing this is all I can say;
     I hope that on the mountain,
     As you take your first fall
     And powder, cool as moonlight, hits your cheek
     That you can regain
     If only for a moment
     All that you have lost
     And see before yourselves
     A future uninhibited and bright.

  By Molly Brown.

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