Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Please God, Let Them See the Train

Children, offspring
a powerful lot
they are

Capable of eliciting
the most intense
of emotions

From the moment
of their arrival
a veritable
cornucopia of
emotions ensue

From the most joyous joy
to the angriest of angry
and every emotion in between

There are precious few
experiences in this life

That will educe the most
proud sense of accomplishment

And

The most painful, searing
sting of inadequacy

Quite possibly
all in a single day

Ever growing individuals
yet extensions of ourselves

They display
some of our
very best qualities

Compassion, Empathy, Thoughtfulness

But they are also constant
reminders of some
of our worst

Disorganization, Discontentment, Inattentiveness

Having already traveled
so many of life's roads

We bear the scars
and harbor memories
of the pain that
these characteristics
have caused us in the past

Being unable to reason
with a child
on his own
journey
down these
well traveled
roads

Is such a painful plight

Frustrating at best
because the knowledge
we have to share
is invaluable

Yet we couldn't seem
more dense to our children

"You just don't get it"
reverberates in my head

Imagine yourself looking down
from a two story window
that has been painted shut

Seeing a person that you would
give your life for standing
on a set of railroad tracks

Behind him, a silent speeding
train approaching

He won't hear you
the window won't open

All you can do is watch
and hope that he eventually
figures out that a train
is coming

Please God, let them
eventually see the train

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