The Gift of Free Will
An evil witch crept up one day
Upon a small dear boy
To steal from him his treasured prize
His gift, his skill, his toy
She came with wart upon her nose
With hat so very black
With gruesome cackle, broomstick bright
With lies, deceit a-whack
But in disguise she masked herself
All dressed in robes to trust
With academic gown and cap
A position so robust
She prepped a cauldron of despair
Lost hope the spell she cast
And in the place of frogs and snails
She cooked a spell to last
She spoke of expectations
She told the boy what she
Thought he should do, what he should think
She zapped autonomy
She added in incentives
Of rewards’ compliant pill
She threatened hurt and punishment
If he failed to bid her will
She ransomed him with sweeties
Then blackmailed him with her curse
To act just as she wanted him
With smiles but rather terse
And then when he’d submitted
She vanished out of sight
To leave the small child quite confused
His life without a light
His heart so wrenched and sold out
To the witch who stole his prize
The gift of independence and free will
Consumed by her disguise
This poem reflects on a year when reports of adults abusing their position to obtain control over young impressionable children seems to have been quite prevalent. From the teacher running off to France with one of his pupil’s to parent’s abusing, in some cases even murdering, their own children, we live in a world where those that have a duty of care over our children often abuse their position. The end result is never a happy one and can happen to any child, so if there’s one thing we can all try and wrap up this Christmas, I pray it will be the gift of autonomy and free will for our children, and in giving them that undertake to move into 2014 nurturing this gift in their lives so that their outcomes honour their expectations and aspirations and not anyone else’s.
We should point out that none of these poems are about a specific individual or identify anyone in particular (click here for full disclaimer)
Ginz&Tonic 