Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable
Children have been pretty active this week, on Wed. Mar 14, there were children in many schools in the US who did a "walk out" in honor of the recent loss of 17 to gun violence a month ago in FL. But the thing is, children are leading a movement to change gun laws...and nobody can stop them, as they know these children will be voting very soon. It's unfortunate that so many children have died due to gun violence.
Shoes or boots to memorialize the fallen. I think the number of children killed has not been just "in schools."
Sepia Saturday says...
Japanese Canadian children being escorted by Vancouver policeman - 1942
Beautiful poem! I am so proud of those kids. They will not give up and I believe they will be able to accomplish what the grownups have not.
ReplyDeleteHope it works.
ReplyDeleteWe can only hope that someone will listen to those children. The answer can surely not be to give teachers guns.
ReplyDeleteI have been amazed by the photo of the children's shoes since I first saw it. Thanks for posting it here. And so proud of our young people for speaking up and taking action.
ReplyDeleteInteresting and important interpretation. I'm hopeful that things improve.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful poem. Good thoughts.
ReplyDeleteA sobering sentiment indeed. Collective action is about raising a chorus of voices so loud that even those high up in their ivory towers cannot ignore the song. They ignore it at their peril.
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me at how callous the governing bodies of our county can be in answer to the deaths of these children as well as adults who are also killed in such a horrific manner. When will congress finally find the guts to stand up to the NRA and demand assault rifles be kept out of the hands of civilians, and a strict waiting period + investigation be applied to gun show sales - to start with! We didn't see these horrid things happening when we were growing up, but the children of today are seeing them almost every day. Hopefully the impression is a lasting one and will make a difference in the way our government officials are elected in the future to come.
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderful post this is, for such a tragic time. These young people are making a difference, still slight progress but in time hopefully.
ReplyDeleteFrightening times, indeed. The shoes photos always get me.
ReplyDeleteAmerica's Children do you Proud.
ReplyDeleteMore Power To Them.
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