Being a parent means

being caught

in the tender cycle

of wanting to point

the life of your child

in the direction of success

but then knowing

that you have to

let them take the direction

that they have to take,

that they will take.

 

And in the cycle,

in this tender trap,

that rotates

across the years

of bringing up,

from when your child

is young and vulnerable

to the shifting adult years,

there are the constant

yearning, anxious thoughts

about what will be

and what might go wrong.

 

Being a parent means

entering this cycle,

willingly and unwillingly,

as a slave of love,

and then being torn

by each turn and step

of your child’s life,

an open life

that’s yours and not yours.

 

11/11/2016