Inspired by a story in the news today.
Multiple families
With multiple children
Living in one house.
Does that explain
how a mother
could leave her three-year old
behind,
Go home,
Watch a movie,
Fall asleep,
And not notice until the next morning
that her son
wasn’t in his bed
or in the house.
Is that bad parenting?
Is that a red flag that something is wrong?
Is that a red flag that something is wrong?
With the mom?
With the other adults in the house?
With the living arrangements?
The question gets raised,
Is this person fit to be a parent?
Many of us have grown children
and still aren’t sure we did it right.
We were sometimes late,
Sometimes short tempered,
Sometimes wrong,
Sometimes not as present as we should have been.
But at the end of the day,
the last thing we did
was tuck in a child,
Say good night,
And
Stand at the bedroom door
And marvel
at the beauty
and tranquility,
Mesmerized
by the sight
Of a son or daughter,
And marveling that
this child
was the most incredible thing
we ever created.
Physically leaving a child behind
Is sad.
Ignoring and not nurturing a child
Is sad.
Not remembering to say good night
to a three year old child
Is sad.
How
Do
Things
Like
This
Happen
Without
Someone
Noticing
Warning
Signs?
Lost in a maze,
Found by a stranger.
All it takes is
one wrong turn,
To change a life
forever.
