They keep me here,
those lips puckered up for good night kisses,
the tooth fairy duties,
odd chuckle in the night.
They keep me sane,
those questions about fairness, children who have
nothing, polar bears drowning,
how drains and bridges work.
They wash away anger
with silly puns and toilet jokes,
songs half-remembered,
the la-la shrieked out loud.
They ground me.
Clip my wings.
Imprison me with love.
Know not what they do.
Nor ever will.
I swear.
findingtimetowrite 
wonder how many mums consider the children their sanity keepers … hmmm … know I did when mine were small … so precious, the time we spend with little ones x
And yet not a day goes by when I don’t wish it to go by faster… Guess we humans are not built to appreciate things that we have?
Grass is always greener etc etc … I know you’ll have heard it umpteen times, but they’re small for such a short time, make the most of them xxx
Cute!
Thanks. They are less cute nowadays. But not much wiser…
This is my absolute favourite of all your beautiful poems, Marina. And after a night comforting my four-year-old who was having bad dreams (and getting no sleep myself at all), it really touched me. Thank you for your perfect timing x
Ah, bless! I know it’s hard sometimes to remember to count our children as blessings (or is that just me?). They weave thousands of little skeins of silken threads around your heart.
Marina … you do write beautifully, but this poem, well it is special, very special! My girl always kept me grounded … otherwise I would have dissolved, long time ago I would have.
Thank you,
Daniela
Thank you for understanding. I too would have faced meltdown many times but for them.
“They keep me sane”. I hope to write something similar one day =)
They also drive me insane, of course! Thanks for your comment.
This is gorgeous. A delightful taste of your life. Very special. Thank you for sharing with us.
Thank you. I really appreciate you taking the time to read and comment, Pat.
Marina Sofia – What a beautiful way to describe the effect that children have on us. And it’s so true, too!
Sometimes it feels like there is nothing on earth that I don’t have a slight ambiguity about… Thank you for your lovely comment, Margot.
Love it, Marina. Absolutely beautiful…and true. And isn’t that the best of it? Simple words, juxtaposed to speak a truth your readers recognize? Thank you.
That would be my definition of poetry, yes. Thank you so much for thinking I live up to that!
… but they will know. When it’s their turn! My mum calls the whole mother-child relationship ‘an old debt long overdue.’ You repay your debt to your mum to the next generation, when you have kids of your own. And so it goes… Great post!
You are so right, I had to laugh! I remember my mother’s ‘curse’ during my childhood was ‘May you have children with even more imagination than yours!’. And guess what?
LOL! Absolutely. Yup, one hundred per cent with you on that one. X
Beautiful poem. Marina. You’ve touched on the push-pull of it all quite eloquently here.
Congratulations on your own little bundle of joy (aunts are not rated highly enough, I think)!
It’s so heartfelt! I swear, I got a bit teary-eyed. Good job, as usual, Marina! 🙂 Hits home.
That’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me… Thank you, Kristel!
I have two boys also – 16 months apart – they drive me INSANE but I love them to bits and feel grateful for them every day. Lovely poem.
Ah, yes, you understand perfectly then… Thanks for reading and commenting.
So true. Made me think, as good poems do, about the times I’ve felt this way. Thank you.