I danced shadows to shield you
Magnificent steps
Choreographed sweetly
To the beat
Of my breaking heart
You wore my shoes
Heavy with irony
Shuffled down trustworthy trails
Longing to fly barefoot
Across murky dark oceans
Only to dangle your toes
Between shark’s teeth
We are writing quadrilles at Dverse Poets Pub.
“Hey! I can make my own waves in the water!”
“Where are your shoes? I told you no.”
“But look…”
“I told you NO.”
“Ok, I’m getting my shoes…oh I have to stop to get all this sand off my feet.”
“Where is your towel? I told you to bring your towel.”
“I forgot it.”
“Don’t pick that up. It’s dirty.”
“It’s just a straw, for my flagpole on my sand castle.”
“Put it down. Now!”
“But I want it. I need it. The flag is the best part.”
“So, by the way…I made my own waves in this world.”
“How did you do that? I told you no.”
“Just look.”
“You didn’t listen. That is good.”
“ I always listened to you….always did what you said until I was tired of wiping the sand off my feet. I needed to feel it.”
“You threw in the towel? I dreamt of your success, your master’s degree in…something. “
“Oh I know…I have never forgotten your dreams.”
“I was afraid of failure…mine, yours…yours being mine.”
“I remember one time when I was little and we were at the beach… I couldn’t build my sand castle because I needed a straw and you said it was dirty. The straw was part of my…”
“I know….part of your creation, your idea. Are you still making sand castles?”
“Yes, Dad. Every day that I can. I want them. I need them…and my ideas are the best part.”
~
______________________________________________________________________
This is something I hold close to my heart. Whether we are parents or educators, I believe it is our responsibility to nurture, be empathetic and model kindness for the mental health of our children and for the future of our society.
A big thank you to unexpectedincommonhours for nominating me for the “3 Days 3 Quotes Challenge”. Check out her blog!
Here are the rules:
1. Thank the person who nominated you.
2. Post a quote each day for 3 days.
3. Each day, nominate 3 new bloggers to take part in the challenge.
Today’s three nominees:
3. Zimmerbitch: age is just a (biggish) number
~
You sprinkle the flour
Careless chaos across my counter
I want to even it out, but I resist
This is your life now
You knead it
~
Watching you with motherly eyes
I finally see
That everything you are
Did not originate from this kitchen
And I thank God for that
You’ve moved on from
These minds, crumbled and torn
This table set robotically
With knives scraping on Corelle
Just to break the silence
~
You twist and turn this art
Into your own
Scoring precisely as planned
Filling the old loaf pan
With new hope, rustic and pure
This bread will leaven
And my heart will rise
~
Written for dVerse and inspired by Gail’s nurturing poetic prompt using the subject of bread.
mishunderstood 