November Writings: Safety

Our homes are locked up, fenced off, don't talk to strangers,
be aware of the dangers, we fill our children with so much fear
the unbound joy in the world has all but disappeared.

What happened to the mud pies? What happened to the trees climbed?
Now the branches stand alone, children staring down at their phones
never knowing what it's like to look someone in the eye and say hi,
strike up a conversation and talk without intimidation... or threat.

All in the name of safety, we've become a helicopter society,
hovering over our children on padded playgrounds,
never letting their feet leave the ground,
so they never learn to fly, they never look up and long to reach the sky

All in the name of safety, we've sworn to keep them germ free,
unaware that they can push their bodies and learn their own limitations, and, more importantly,
learn to move, to grow, to push and try, to fall down and get back up again,
and try once more, or maybe ten,
and they keep on trying, pushing and then,
what they learn is that life is worth the struggle, the work, the drive,
it teaches them to STRIVE to reach those goals,
and this play, it feeds their souls.
Children reach deeper with the risks they take, and learn more from the mistakes they make
if we just back off our hovering way,
and let our children learn to PLAY.