My Dearly Loved Son

Reflections as my son prepares to leave home.

I watched you

waving chubby little hands energetically

as I drove off to work,

knowing you would be there

to welcome me home…

 

I wondered how much of your day

you would feel pain of my absence.

 

I remember you

clinging to my leg, teary eyed,

pleading not to be left

with all the strangers at a new school…

 

I had to wonder once again,

how long your little heart suffered

before delighting in the activities of the day.

 

I have watched you gain confidence

walking ever more bravely

into the challenges and opportunities ahead;

you would turn back, now and again

to find me patiently ready to reassure

and you step forward on your own…

 

And I wondered

if you knew how proud your father was of you.

 

Now it seems you stride away

embracing the possibilities ahead

without a thought or care

of what is or was behind you.

Never a backward glance,

nor a step faltering.

 

I am left wondering

when the ache to see your smile

and feel your embrace

will soften within my soul…

 

Hoping you, my dearly loved son,

will always find your way back home.

Reviews

[ReedWrite]

All of us who have raised and loved our sons and daughters from a place that knows no bounds and is beyond explanation, can relate to your words. As I see my own children step into their adult lives and move forward, I resolve to let them go and not cling...hoping hearts and minds will find their way back home...if for nothing more than remembering a beautiful childhood and drawing strength from that foundation.

[David Scott]

Yes... hands open to release and arms open to receive. Thank you for the read and comment.

[TrimarcoRansome]

These memories feel like so long ago for me, but reading your words evoked all those torturous feelings that followed me from the school playground each morning. Now, they all return, because it is always 'home', as our parents home was always ours. You put me right back in time to my own experience, your words are powerful and well written.

[David Scott]

Thank you for the comment. Carson is eighteen now and off again on a trip to Madagascar. His journeys are just beginning. My only hope is he knows in his heart where he comes from and where he is always able to find a "home".

[Lyn Anderson]

What a wonderful poem. I know the day will come (much too soon) when I will be seeing my kids off into the world. Not an easy thing to do, but also with its own joys.

[David Scott]

It is a strange phase in life to be sure. Thank you for commenting.

[Vatsal Rohilla (account..]

This is extremely deep and heart-touching. A father's love for his son and his thoughts about the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for him have been pictured vividly, plainly and beautifully. Keep writing.

[David Scott]

Thank you for the kind thought.

[...]

This is so heartfelt and beautifully expressed...
I never had a father like you, one who loves his children so much, and I find it remarkable.
These words will mean so much to him,even more as he becomes a man

[David Scott]

Thank you...
He cried a little when I read it to him... (so did I) ha.
I love my children very much. I am thankful to be given the chance to love them.