We Owe Them

Looking at the world around me, I see a tremendous amount of beauty, but woven into the fabric of living is much that is distressing. The sadness and cruelty that falls upon the young ones, the vulnerable, and the innocent ones is heartbreaking, and worse some of us humans don’t even care that it happens. What is wrong with our world?

Children didn’t ask to be born. They are entitled to have parents who are loving, nurturing, kind, and not dysfunctional. Many days and nights, even doing the best that I could be as a parent, have left me with guilt-induced sadness. I know that I didn’t live up to what I thought should be great parenting; I made many mistakes.

As adults, we have a responsibility to provide the next generation hope their lives will bear fruit in a world that is notoriously treacherous to navigate to begin with. They deserve only the best. If all babies were born wanted, loved, and raised appropriately, future generations would thrive. Maybe. I hope.

Fingers crossed Charles is right!

Progeny

Inspired by Moonwashed Weekly Prompt – Nonsensical & Reena’s Exploration Challenge #259

their precious faces
and nonsensical babbles
sheer joy in their eyes
ah, the memories of those days
bring a smile to my face

the poopy diapers
siblings fighting
snot-filled noses
hours upon hours of crying
not so much

each year brought new challenges
as milestones were reached and lessons were learned
and just when my last nerve was plucked
growth occurred
i uttered a sigh of relief

they are grown now
having flown the coop
to fashion their lives as they see fit
it’s satisfying to know
i got two things right

Meltdowns

Gabriella Clare Marino – Unsplash

Inspired by Sadje’s What do you see #78 and VJ’s Weekly Challenge – I’m bored

i’m bored!
my teddy bear fell in the toilet!
i’m hungry!
jeffy took my crayons!
i’m thirsty!
mama, my finger is stuck!
sandra poked me!
jeffy hit me!
mommy, the cat looked at me funny!

come darlings
lunch is ready
the kiddie table is set
maybe some wine and a cigarette will calm you two down?

**DISCLAIMER – I’ve never offered toddlers wine or cigarettes.

The Risk Of Loving

@avogado6 on Twitter

Inspired by Eugi’s Weekly Prompt – Jewels & Reena’s Exploration Challenge #174

the streaming brilliance of those i adore
elicit my smiles and warm heart-felt thanks
for providing a cushion from the cruelty in this world

the love i hold for those i love
fills me with joy and comfort
an ease not found elsewhere but with them

occasionally worry squeezes my head
allowing anxiety to ripple through my heart
the safety of the jewels in my life takes priority

i hope desperately to ensure their longevity
because what would i be
without them


Reblog – Life-force by Dorinda Duclos

Oof! Those special relationships, they certainly know how to be there for us. It’s a tender and loving bond that never goes away.

Night Owl Poetry - Dorinda Duclos


She scolds me when I’m stupid
Though she’ll never use the word
It’s simply by, the look in her eye
That proves no words need be heard

I acknowledge with an uneasy sigh
But, somehow, it never soaks in
She looks at me and wonders why
I’d rather sink, than swim.

Things ingrained into me
From so very long ago
Are sorely hard to leave behind
For my own good, I need to, though

So I never let another
Drain my life, oh, how I’ve tried
As hard as I try to fight it
A part of me has died

To leave it in the past, tis true
I must heed what I am told
By one much younger than me
Who, with a simple hug, enfolds

Bringing comfort to my weary heart
Breathing life into my soul
My daughter shares her life-force
The thing from me, another stole…

©2020

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After Life

no one really even begins to tell you the truth
or maybe they are but
you just aren’t paying attention

it’s not all roses and sunshine
sustaining and nurturing life
it’s work, sweet but also filled with sorrow

that first look promises everything
truths unfolding eventually
moments can be filled with as much suckness as joy

because that’s life
a bouncing between two extremes
hopefully nestling more towards the middle

there’s sickness and whines
lots of snot and green squirts
a feeling of “will this ever end?”

at times rejoicing at the child’s laughter in new discovery
that first walk, mama and dada hearing their names
and a multitude of things in the positive column

decades of months of patience
doing right by baby, by family and maybe herself
holding it together, for one and all

then along comes the back talk of teenager angst
rebellion, screaming matches, threats of eviction
the tears in a mother’s hearts grow deeper

years of up and down emotions
tears of capitulations and smiles of jubilation
limits tested until just about snapping

then the agonies fade, sweet memories recalled
old pictures remind us of the evolution of the tiny beings
child-rearing becomes just something we all went through together

pages in their story book filled by their imagination
now independent and free from guidance
their journeys beginning to take shape

a look back brings bittersweet tears
but glancing forward forms a smile
a face filled with pride for these men i birthed