You are everything to me,
from a strange moving bulge in my belly,
pushing your way out regardless of my readiness,
a squirmy needy creature depriving me of sleep,
a wondrous bundle,
a heart-stealing thief,
growing, changing daily,
an unpredictable explorer,
a fountain of questions,
playful, funny, ingenious,
a brilliant student,
an insolent teenager,
a diligent musician,
an indifferent communicator,
to now, so say the signs,
a precious adult,
I must get to know.
Brave Parent
Darest thou to encourage the young mind
In thy care to explore and wander
among the forests of the art world?
A child unconditioned as of yet
untethered in the ways of the world,
still in touch with sublime realities,
still caressing natural freedoms,
honest, inquiring perspectives,
seeing color unconditioned into conformity.
To buy a child an easel,
to encourage and bless creativity.
She will be never be the same once she sees
more than most.
She will be spurned by others louder,
more brazen, more dead.
Oh brave parent,
I applaud thee.
I am angry to see good things happen,
as in the grocery store.
The hot dogs;
now they can be bought
without sodium nitrite,
without the preservatives
that swoop the breath out of a child.
When I wanted to buy hotdogs,
when my child was a child,
I could not.
When I needed food to be safe,
it was not.
It was up to me to be the monster,
depriving my child of fun food.
So yes, every time I see hotdogs made safe,
I am angry,
and so very relieved.
