This poem is written to address parents. It is also my wish for you all right now. Poetry has the amazing ability to hold us in a moment and give us the space we need to breathe and see our world a little more clearly.
“Do not ask your children to strive” by William Martin
Do not ask your children
to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable,
but it is the way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples and pears.
Show them how to cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself.