TO MY SON

A Poem

You say,

No -

You demand

I allow you to be

An adult.

You rail and yell

And curse

Everything that I am,

Everything I believe in,

Everything I have given of myself for you

To prepare you

To be an adult.

You’re missing the point

In your need to be free

That I want nothing more

Than for you to be

The man you want to be.

You say you want

To fly and be free.

I want that too.

No,

No I don’t.

I want you to stand

On your own two feet,

Strong

And rock solid,

With strength in your convictions

And a moral compass

That you’re willing to ignore

Sometimes

In order to do the right thing.

I want you to be able

To move forward

And make your choices,

Whether they’re choices

I would make

Or not,

And not need backup

Even if it is always there.

I want you to see

The future

And use the past

To make it better.

I want you to teach

And be teachable,

To never accept

Without questioning,

To give generously

Of your time

And your money

And your heart -

Because it is your best feature -

That heart,

With your perseverance

A close second,

I don’t want you to fly

Because in flying

You can’t always see

The ground falling away beneath you.

I want you to walk.

No,

I want you to run

And embrace the world,

To love

And be loved.

I want you to surge forward

And not be afraid

Or unwilling

To look back.

I want you to do new things

And explore new places,

Whether they exist

On this earth

Or in your imagination.

I want you to hope

And dream,

And tie yourself up in knots

Over someone

Who makes you feel like

You’re invincible

And vulnerable.

But don’t be invincible.

Be vulnerable.

And allow yourself

To get lost sometimes,

And to be found

And discovered

And explored.

I want you to live,

To grow,

To thrive,

To find a place that is

Uniquely yours

And let it enfold you.

I want you to be you -

Only you -

The man you are,

The man I see

Who is demanding I acknowledge him,

Which I do.

You just don’t see it yet

Because you don’t see

Your self.