~Little One~

Little one,
Poor, whimpering, defenseless little one,
Running to me to stop their tears.

Annoying little one,
Skittish and afraid,
Full of sentimental fluff.

This little one is strangely attached to me,
Clinging to me with the little strength it has.
Thinking I am the antidote to everything.

Little one, shut up and stop crying!
Stop leaning on others,
Stop being so weak!

One day you'll be alone, little one,
And no one will be there to hold you up,
And you will vanish from the earth for your weakness.

So I prepare you for that time, little one,
I prepare you in the best way I know how -
With my fists.

Little one, there you go again!
Crying and wailing like a newborn baby,
You will get no where like that!

I've given up, little one,
I am finished training you,
For if you will not learn, I will not teach.

Now I am without my little one,
And life is full of bliss,
For I have no overgrown child to take care of.

Suddenly, I am trapped!
My little one is no where to be found,
And I am attacked with no way to defend.

Down comes the blow,
Down through the air to my head,
Coming to kill.

Out from no where, my little one appears!
He stands strong and fights off the monster,
And all I can do is stare.

My little one, the same little one I strived to harden,
He comes and embraces me lovingly,
And I grasp him happily.

Now I see how strong my little one really was,
He is not weak, he certainly wasn't,
But he was full of strength and mightiness.

Now I find that I was the weak one,
I had that imperfection,
The same imperfection I strived to fix in my little one.

I soften like pudding in my little one's arms,
And he holds me close,
Whispers encouraging words in my ear.

And amongst all of this emotional contact,
Amidst the blooming feelings,
I feel a stream of tears stream down my cheek.