I See Children As Kites

You spend a lifetime trying to get them off the ground.

You run with them until you

are both breathless...

They crash...

You add a larger tail...

They hit the rooftop...

You pluck them out of the spout.

You patch and comfort, adjust and teach

You watch them lifted by the wind

and assure them that someday

they'll fly

Finally they are airborne, but they

need more string and

you keep letting it out.

With each twist of the ball of twine,

There is a sadness that goes with the joy,

because the kite becomes more distant.

And somehow you know that it won't be long

Before that beautiful creature will snap

the lifeline that bound you together

And soar free and alone.

Only then do you know that

you did your job.