Chains

  

Days come, days go, unbending, unending, 

one step in front of the other;

inexorable in their progress as they slip

through cracks in the pavement and forge                    

chains stronger even than imagination itself.

It's like the careless dismissal of adoration,

or wrapping the moon in brown paper and

forsaking a festive ribbon; allowing 

everything to fade, until all that's left 

are promises we never remember keeping.

But then, the five year old child

lying sleepy in my arms, looks up and 

whispers, 'I love you so much mummy;'

And the chains break, dissolved into nothing

by the salt-sweet taste of a single tear of joy;

And truth be told, those chains never really stood a chance. 

Reviews

[h d e rushin]

I had a long conversation with a severely depressed friend of mine and she talked openly,
and even glowingly, about chains. The psychological ones that manifested themselves often
from the physical ones that never really existed. Nothing can really unlock the chains from
another persons soul like the spellbinding resolve of love. And the love of a child to his
mother is unconditional.

The sad thing (to me) is that so many woman want a child in order to find, on this
lonely earth, love in any form. And thus usher in a life of despair and poverty
just to achieve it. Which should tell civilization something about both chains and how love
is hostile to any inadequacy...

and any bondage......Great poem my friend....dana

[katja]

i have read through a number of your poems now & am truly struck by the uniqueness [&] diversity in both subject & tone ... your style is utterly charming, otherwordly as though you have stepped forward from another era where classic poetry was appreciated for the art it is...
... there is a [dare i say it] feminity to your diction that really lends itself to the pieces about your son; it appears [enviously] effortless for you to pen this maternal writes & still... notes of complexity throughout
*
a wonderful write, a treat to read
thank you for sharing
~ katja

[ANTO]

What a wonderful shattering of the beginnings of a self-encapsulating egg of sad.
This is beautiful Beccy.
The last line induces such a shoulder-raising sigh.
Lovely writing

[terry smith]

children are the reminder of the light of love, in it's true meaning!! loved your poem!! :)

[R J Askew]

A beautiful moment beautifully captured. The contrast between the melancholic reflection on time's march and the sudden flash of love heightens the impact.

[Coyote Poetry]

A beautiful and powerful poem for love.
"And truth be told, those chains never really stood a chance. "
Words of love can bring us back to life again. Thank you Beccy for sharing the excellent poetry.
Coyote

[jacob erin-cilberto]

a parent's love might almost seem like a love in chains, because there is no choice...but that kind of love is unconditional...doesn't need chains and doesn't care if they are locked to the child and the key is thrown away...

when a child looks at a parent with love---there is emancipation of spirit and heart...

and we just give freely.

[barrywatkins]

How wonderfully uplifting this is. Such love is a gift from heaven that not all in this world are granted.

God bless you and your child. Barry

[J3ssInJupit3r]

This is beautiful. I really love this. It teared me up a little actually. So very wonderful

[Fabian G. Franklin]

Oh, I just ADORE this...the forlorn turning to the sublime...I truly believe it's the sort of business God is involved in. Of course the closet thing to an angel most of us see in this world is in the eyes of a mother or a child. Bless.

[Beccy]

Thanks dana. An interesting proposition, 'love in any form, but I would venture, that the desire for a child is also deeply primal, an overriding instinct that was programmed into the very core of our being by that higher hand.

Not that I support bringing a child into this world at any price. Far too often, as you rightfully say, their life will be one of such despair and poverty that not even unconditional love will be enough; but the yearning is strong and so, so hard to cast aside.

Thank you for your words.

Beccy.