Vein splitting, heart slapping,
life rolled you through the wringer.
You came out flat only to puff yourself up again,
get three dimensional, so God
could save you from the shredder.
One time you had it all -
the bills were paid, the house was clean,
the dog stopped peeing on the carpet.
You had love, sex, a roof, a bed.
You had food, car insurance, tickets to a show
- you had it all.
Then it was the children, misstepping,
out of place, and your sleepless nights
erupted into a new era of anxiety.
But your choices were not theirs,
your faith was not theirs, some of your words
fell out of your mouth and landed
with a thud at their feet.
They didn't notice your great, good example,
your ducks in a row perched on the mantle.
They wanted all the fun and life experiences
you never had - and you wanted that for them too.
So you waited and prayed,
kicked faith into high gear
because you never really had it all,
you just had faith.
COEXIST: Poetry, Books, and Essays by Diane Vogel Ferri
2 comments:
Being a parent to later years children tends to be all about standing back and having faith they will make careful decisions. Hopefully they will survive (and you) with faith intact. And God is far removed from the shredder. (Loved that image!)
I thought the line about the words landing at their feet was so true.
It must be difficult to watch your children go through trials.
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