the child left to stand too soon
on her own accord
fades from the world
too ineffectual to face it
it is a spiritual starving
that hollows her out from inside
this is not the time to burden her with structure
the demands of an adult world
cripple tender bones
she must be nurtured to grow
here are the parents
indoctrinating a world view
preaching the harshness of life
what can it help injuring
inflicting the violence that wrenches free
disembodies and spreads disease?
they justify it as a warning
it is this self mutilation
projected upon the girl
that they cannot acknowledge
savage action belies the shame
they will not bow to her divinity
the pace of her unfolding
she mourns at the grave of fireflies
of that which cannot be recovered
begging compassion for the one
that has yet to learn to stand
the one that lies uncovered
Chromapoetica 
This says so much. That last stanza knocked my shoes off! Incredible images.
Thank you.
nice…working with kids i see them faced with harsh realities well before their time…the hollowing is the point that you caught me…how true…nice write…
That’s how I felt it, a hollowing, I’m glad it rings true.
I know this poem is not about shoes, but because of my suggestibility perhaps, about half way through I began thinking of the old Chinese custom of binding the feet of girl children for a perceived “beauty” in mutilation. A strong poem of wounding, and damage passed generationally, and the last stanza is bright and hard as a diamond.
I like your analogy of the bound feet, anything that hobbles our free movement and development. Also, in the South, where I spent some of my time, children used to get diseases that crippled their minds from not wearing shoes.
It’s one of the worst crimes imaginable: to not allow a child to be a child.
Yes, in my mind the prompt brought up the idea of shoes taking you somewhere. What happens when that development is truncated or hobbled by others? What about when a child is walked over by hard boots.
Anna, this is amazing! I took this as a more personal write, as I’m close to leaving my 30’s behind, and each and every day is a battle to be myself against all that was imposed and is expected of me. On a world level, are we all not like this child…acting and behaving in ways we have so outgrown, EVOLVED beyond, yet because it was so for generations, we stand by and let it be so for US! Hmm…I’m ranting now, and I’ve been taught not to do that in a home not my own. Trust this one will sit with me for sometime!
Feel free to speak your mind here. I love long comments! Thank you for adding to the layers of meaning and the dialogue around the poem.
Nice write with strong images.
Thank you, I enjoyed your piece very much.
It is hard to comprehend what some little ones have to face, very heartbreaking, and I can’t imagine the holes left to fill well into adulthood. Excellent and emotional 🙂
I like the way you put that, there are holes in the foundation. Thank you very much for the feedback.
bravo. a voice seldom heard.
Thank you, I enjoyed reading your poem about the night and look forward to stopping by again soon.
It’s a fine line I think. How much do you shelter to protect their innocence when they don’t know how to protect themselves? When do we tell them of predators, when do they read the Brothers Grimm? They shouldn’t play Grand Theft Auto but they shouldn’t be kept in a gilded cage either. Teenage rebellion lies on both sides of that fine line.
Very true and good parents not only are concerned about the line but generally find a good balance.
Robert Bly once said that childhood was a gold ball that the world of parents and their grown-up, fallen-down world then proceeds to hack away at, piece by piece, until what remains is a sliver – the adult. I loved your poem, its defense of childhood, of the childlike state of enchantment so easily tossed on the landfill like an outgrown toy. Too bad parents get such poor instruction in parenting — usually (if at all) from parents damaged by their own upbringing. I sure got a dose of humility when the job was handed to me via a stepdaughter in my first marriage — it is just so damn easy to blithely, unknowingly screw up. I don’t much understand what happened to the current crop of young adults — they seem so rivenly narcissistic, over-parented yet wholly abandoned, floating in a white-noise omni-media. What ever happened to initiation, the rites which instructed the young in the myths, in how to care for the community, how to be a good parent? So much lost. Maybe the thing most lost is the parental wisdom in letting the child become who they are …
I agree with Robert Bly thank you for bringing his thoughts to my attention. Some parents tear down the gold ball almost immediately. I’ve worked with young people whose parents starved them as babies, made them take care of other children at a young age, or beat them. This voracious destruction is the projection of the self-mutilation upon the child. Who is culpable? Often the abusive parents are themselves wounded children full of shame. Too often, especially in the juvenile justice system, I’ve seen the child punished for the parent’s crimes. In a way they started paying for the parent’s inability to cope since birth. The path to individuation for an abused child is so much harder. Thank you for reading and your thoughtful response.
the poignancy of your poem touched me…. and i do agree with the earlier comments about letting children be children….
for me, it came with experience and confidence as a parent.. with the first child, i was anxious and very structured. by the third child, i was enjoying and more carefree.
nice to meet you ~
Thank you, it’s nice to meet you too. Good parents do as you said, learn from experience and become more confident. This confidence allows them to view a child’s individuation process as normal and not a threat to the parent’s identity or authority. Many parents learn to balance the needs of the child with the need to set boundaries and protect them; unfortunately, abusive parents are often too caught in the throws of their own shame to raise children well. As a volunteer and mentor I’ve seen too many young lives truncated by the unresolved issues of the parents. Thank you for your thoughtful comment.
I have no respect for parents that abuse…whether they suffered under it or not…compassion for a child or an animal shows compassion for all of life…and to abuse those who come to us for comfort and direction is not acceptable and should not be in any culture or faith…bkm
Here, here, thank you for your comment.
*sigh* this is brilliant, Anna, and i don’t throw that word around much. sometimes i find your work too much for my pea brain, but this one i got right down to the bone.
I’m so glad this piece resonated with you. I’m certain you have a lovely, voluminuous, and ever so clever brain. 🙂