further advice to my daughters

I wrote an apology to my daughters once, I had neglected to teach them about the importance of jumping in mud puddles. My many thanks to friends who were responsible in large part for these further lessons . . .

It is important

to dance

on the edge of propriety--

sometimes--

there are fountains

public

that simply must be waded

in summer's degrees of heat.

 

And it is your shining destiny

to melt

stolid pre-conceptions--

to fan the flames where others fear.

There are countless adventures

waiting

for dark-eyed girls

like you . . .

 

***************

playing with heat

****************

 

it may have been the heat that sent us splashing in the public fountain

it may have been Anna's delighted look at the thought of such charming adventures

it was more probably Sarah's instinctive fear of flouting the edge of propriety.

and so we entered en force, three adult women, old enough to know better,

one excited child

and one almost teen who wished for the cloak of invisibility.

and the water was fresh and cool and lovely,

the other children all thought so.

and mostly we just did it for Sarah

so that she could conquer her fear of what others think

if only for a few sweet moments in the fountain

and there are other adventures

waiting . . .

 

 

Reviews

[JohnL]

Aahhhh! But what a lovely mum you really are. And what a wonderful piece of poetry to express your feelings about a problem that must have faced every parent at some time. I am sure there has been no lasting harm done by just a little over protection.

I must confess to my geat familiarity with 'mud puddles' and am thankful for the longish string I tugged in my youth - but boys are different are they not?

John

[Marie Anzalone]

This made me smile. Deeply. This summer, I passed a single solitary overwhelmingly hot day on the waterfront in Boston. The city has doen something incredibly humane for its children... they had built an outdoor giant fountain that was for playing in during the heat of the day. It had jets that shot water up through a concrete basin made for spalshing, and the jets were controlled by knobs. You press the button, and get about 3 minutes of playtime. Yes, these 4 adults went in and played! Me, Lonestar, my 18 year old prodigy, and my friend from Peru. It was glorious, and was so glad that for ONCE we did not have to break the rules of propriety. :-)

[Fabian G. Franklin]

Parenting is an adventure in and of itself...oh, sure, plenty of people write books on the subject but I'd not like Dr. Spock raising my kid any more than I'd like Dr. Ruth or Dr. Phil...Dr. Phil is complete and utter idiot by the way and someone has failed to tell him what a pompous a*s he is. (anyway) It is important to color outside the lines...heck, I don't even use coloring books...just blank paper and crayons. When it was first suggested to me that some people cannot think outside the box, I asked, WHAT WERE THEY DOING INSIDE OF A BOX? College was wonderful...they taught me that everything I had been doing and being criticized for in grammar school was called "critical thinking". I told them the teachers in elementary school and high school were quite "critical" of it indeed. And all the lies they taught me and I corrected them on were justified by my college professors who saw things in the same light I always had. Why is THAT do you think? Why do parents constantly LIE to their children...i.e. / the Easter Bunny...Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy...etc. and then are amazed when their kids don't trust them? I am baffled by parental logic.

[Mary]

Oh Emily, I will share this diamond with my daughter! Perfect advice, and so very beautiful!

[Ken Simm.]

See the water. See it catching the light and hear the laughter. What could be better? And to imagine and encourage the destiny of our children. What could we better do? Beautifully written poem.

I love the line 'so that she could conquer her fears of what others think'. I am a strong believer in this, so this piece strikes a chord with me.
Every line reads like each word was deliberate and meaningful. 'One almost teen who wished for the cloak of invisibility' immediately conjures the image of a 12+ yr old child who is embarrassed to death of their parents. This and many other images were clear in my mind as I read, and you made that happen without any 'looks like' describing, which can sometimes take away from the experience of the piece.
I was unaware I was reading this until it finished - exactly what I want :)
Wonderful piece!

[Vinod Kumar U K]

Realisation and rectification is essential... Nice write...........

[The Analog Kid]

This is liberating and joyful. This is what makes life shine when we look back sometimes. Also, a little lesson in there:)

[Tala]

Not badly written but i personally didnt like it. a bit too naive? i think.

[iand63]

sound advice indeed, splashing fountains, chasing pigeons, and mud puddle paddling. great read thank you.

[EMF]

I have laughed, smiled and laughed some more. An absolutley terrific poem that I simply would not want to fault. Brilliant. I love it. A short rreview, simply because it is simply brilliant.