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Warning!

I sit and watch parents
All doing their best
To bring up their children
So they don’t become pests
For they take them to this
And they take them to that
Take them swimming, to rugby
Let them swing cricket bat
They pay for their lessons
In music and more
Take them on holidays, to museums
To try and ensure
They have every opportunity
Are brought up to be
Availed of experiences
To furnish a, b and c

But midst all the doing
In the busy rushed mire
I spy little children
Who are exhausted and tired
But what I see too
Are kids who are not
Happy, relaxed
Contented with their lot!
And I spy through the mayhem
Kids who are bored
Who can’t be by themselves
Who are honestly floored
If they just aren’t kept busy
Aren’t “living the dream”
And I think to myself
Is this just what it seems

Is this right for these children
Is this really the best
Or is this the root of a problem
That’s yet not flown the nest
But is brooding for later
When all the chances are spent
And history sighs loudly
And condemns and resents
And looks back and wonders
What good did that do?
Was it really enjoyable?
Or do we now rue
The best for its badness
Options all burned out
As tomorrow’s adults are lost
And completely stressed out!

Academies – A Prophecy

A world is being built
Where baby factories
Otherwise known as parents
Will feed their products onto
The conveyor belts of education
In warehouses that were once schools
Where grades are the currency
And children are the commodities
Being traded on the floors
Of ‘academies’
And my heart bleeds
Rivers of lost childhood
Wasted creativity
Deprived opportunity
For those who don’t pass the test
Fit the mould 
For they will be spat out
And anaerobically digested
For further extortion
In a process that
Devalues individual potential

Do you know that there is no requirement for a school academy to have parents on its governing board! If you’ve got children who will still be in the system by 2020/22 you might like to consider what this means as the state leads the way in potentially selling off your children and their future in a world where you don’t have a say! 

 

 

 

School’s Out For Summer

School’s out for summer
The kids are really glad
Grandma’s baking extra cakes
And smiles have replaced sad
As teacher’s get a well earnt break
And Mum and Dad get space
To not be rushed to fit it all
Into the big rat race

And road users say “Praise the Lord”
Until the schools go back
Cos they’ll get there in double time
With empty lanes and tracks
And shop keepers rub greedy mitts
Thinking of all the sales
As kids sprout through the summer months
And clothes depart their rails

So that by 1^st September
When it’s time to return
Each child is cloaked in uniform
That says it’s time to learn
And also time to grow again
To have a chance to fit
Into the oversized jumper
And all other school kit

But for now let’s enjoy them
The holidays that is
Even though in a few short days
All will be in a tizz
With parents pulling out their hair
And cursing just how tough
It is to occupy young minds
Swearing they’ve had enough!

There’s Never Any Reason

There’s never any reason
To beat a little child
To smack them, whip them, hurt them
To leave them so defiled
By physical aggression
Or psychologically
To steal away their human right
To live a life that’s free
Of harm and exploitation
For each child has great worth
And each adult should protect them
Enhance their walk on earth
And pave a pathway forward
That’s full of love; that’s fair
That helps them prosper and grow up
To know somebody cares

In response to http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33074734. If you have been affected by child abuse please get in touch with http://www.nspcc.org.uk 

A Penguin Is Dancing

In the light of the moon
Neath the branch of a tree
A penguin is dancing
Whilst having his tea
And reading the paper
Whilst stoking the fire
Next to Panda on bamboo
And Tiger in mire

In the distance a cuckoo
Sings loud from the nest
Of another; an eagle
Now driving out West
Towards song of a dolphin
Out in ocean’s bay
Midst pirates and mermaids
Under rainbows they say

And frogs and princesses
And all the King’s men
The goblins and unicorns
And little red hen
Run free and unchecked
For in this puerile soup
Fantastical nonsense fuels
Imagination’s hoop

The hoop to have fun with
The hoop that goes round
The hoop that elicits
The world underground
In the depths of our dreamlands
Our hopes and insights
Imaginings from childhood
Where wonder beams bright

Approximate representation of a fantasy world at watercolor painting. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Magic Tree

At top of hill near cliff and ridge
There is a magic tree
With portal in its ancient trunk
A cave of mystery
Where those who seek shall always find
Less sceptics may vanish
Enchanted by its lure; appeal
To share with all their wish

For deep within a Fairy Queen
Who’s said to wear the crown
Has court in session granting forth
All folk from out of town
Their dreams and hopes and deep desires
Their aspirations too
But will you go to the charmed tree
Ask that your wish come true

Or will you scoff and not believe
Rebuff this fairytale
Close off your mind to its magic
Not see what can prevail
When eyes open and hearts extend
To worlds that are for sure
Enchanted by this charmed dear tree
To offer so much more

Heaven’s Gift

On Christmas day in barn so bare
Beneath a starlit sky
From manager in a cattle shed
A babe was heard to cry
His first sweet breaths; his tender plea
That soon would be heard wide
Yet first reached out to mother’s heart
To be there by his side

An infant who depended on
The warmth and love she shared
To nurture and protect him as
An angel with such care
Where wings wrapped closely round him and
Her halo gently glowed
To comfort him the way Mums do
With so much grace bestowed

And there without even a bed
Nor anything at all
The Christ child lay wrapped up in just
A cloth; a swaddling shawl
With nothing bar the love of those
In whom their arms he lay
No trappings and no Christmas lights
But simple modest hay

And so if there’s a message to
Take from this humble start
Is that each child can grow to be
Reflections of the hearts
And minds of those who care
Without riches galore
For children are but heaven’s gift
For us to all adore

And each arrives with nothing bar
The wish to be so loved
Wrapped up in hope and peace and trust
That’s handed from above
And so for Christmas every year
Be sure to thus impart
The gift of unconditional love
That flows out of your heart

The Virgin Mary with the Baby Jesus, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, and Saint Prosper of Reggio, 16th century. Reggio Emilia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Love Of Family

You’ll never earn a child’s respect
Through blackmailed bribery
You’ll never buy their devotion
Demanding that they see
You or indeed spend their time
In worshipping the ground
On which you walk; They can’t be bought
Nor will they e’er be found
Until you start to step up to
The mark; be honest too
And stop dangling a carrot for
Them to then follow you
Nor give them gifts or scare them from
Those whom you maybe hate
For children have autonomy
Their own pathways create
And only by your selfless heart
Will they then turn to you
And see your unconditional love
Be inspired by what you do
For they did not chose to be yours
They don’t elect to be
Tied up in your emotions nor
Your deep set jealousy
But they will love you to the end
They’ll love you; ask for nil
And you – well honour them for who
They are; Be constant still
And be the best that you can be
Embrace the truth and see
That you can’t buy and cannot sell
The love of family!

There are those in society nowadays that believe that children can be bought with rewards, bribes, demands – call it what you will.  There are those who subscribe to the doctrine of blame and blackmail to get their children to do their will.  There are those who coerce and believe that they can use all this to control children even starving them and taking away their basic provisions in order to stamp their authority like a brand on their own children.  The truth is children are their own person and have the right to autonomy and as they grow older they learn that others too have similar rights.  If we as adults don’t allow them to develop this and have their own voice, and respect them, then how are we ever to expect them to do likewise.  This isn’t about pampering to a child’s will but stepping up to the mark with responsibility and love.  This poem is dedicated to all those children who are forced to live the life of another and not their own, and our prayer goes out to them.  It is written from my heart to theirs.

Give Your Children Just Enough

Give your children just enough
To go and make some good
But not enough that then they fail
Nor see the tree or wood
Give them a start and help them to
Appreciate this Earth
To own their own pathways ahead
Not just by right of birth

And let them harness steadfastness
Inspired to do much more
To take the little that they have
And rise on footholds sure
With knowledge that they can succeed
Be who they want to be
And open up the way ahead;
Take opportunity

To know that by their own attempts
Their focus and their might
They’ll take the little that you give
And with hard work in sight
They’ll master their autonomy
Be true to who they are
And journey whilst holding on fast
So that they will go far