Reverse Parenting
It can be hard
watching you grow up
towards independence
Loving you so
feeding you
‘open wide’
changing you
‘not again’
I push you in your stroller
you walk a little more each day
tumbling less
The joy
You learn language
sounds develop into words
words become sentences
Your world expands
At night I gently lay you
on your side
you curl up snug
foetal again
I kiss your forehead
the skin so fine
my lips sense the steady pulse
of your life
Your heart
certain of tomorrow
Parenting Reverse
It can be hard
watching you grow down
towards dependence
Loving you still
feeding you
‘open wide’
changing you
‘not again’
Stumbling more
you walk a little less each day
I push you in your wheelchair
The sadness
You unlearn language
sentences diminish into words
words become sounds
Your world contracts
At night I gently turn you
on your side
you curl up snug
foetal again
I kiss your forehead
the skin so fine
my lips feel the feeble pulse
of your life
Your heart
uncertain of tomorrow
“Beauty is my child’s face.”*
Is there a more perfect sight than the face of a beloved child? Is there a more perfect feeling than stroking the softness of their skin? Is there a more perfect smell than inhaling their sweet scent as you envelope them in a tight embrace? These are some of the intoxicating wonders of motherhood. How I love to dwell on my child’s exquisite features, but no matter how long or how intently I gaze, the image is always changing. It is the nature of childhood.
* © from 'Being Mummy' by Anne‑marie Taplin, published April 2007