Beautiful Boy
You were made
from me -
from the minutiae of me
you became,
from within me.
Yet you are not me
And I cannot be you.
I cannot and will not
will you to be
what I would have
you be.
I cannot keep you
safe,
make you live
one way
or another.
I cannot stop you running
over the edge,
if that is where
you need to go.
No
I cannot clip your wings,
shield you from the things
I know
so many poisons, smiling thieves,
lies, stealthy disappointment and slow
near fatal blows.
But I cannot hold you
high up
on our little ledge
away from life’s mess.
I must let you dive down
into it all,
maybe drown
in it, maybe become it