I live fretfully in this delicate,
fragile dance of concern,
as I see the faces of my children,
and their sacred children,
with their eyes open with wonder
about the world and possibility,
bathed in innocence not yet touched
by the shadows we leave behind,
as they gambol in imagination’s delight.

In my moments of reflection,
as my mind moves over darksome ideas,
I wonder if our collective hands,
always building and tearing down,
will create more than structures
of regret and patterns of destruction
that are the death of innocence.

 

3/7/2024