Every square inch

A short poem about finding the tenuous middle

my son is ten
trump’s been president
more than half his life

while we’re giving
everything we’ve got
to resisting and organizing
practicing joy and presence
raising him to know
the power of his voice and body
his privilege and his opportunity

my heart squeezes
when i pause
and realize
he’s just a kid
who wants to
play soccer
and eat jolly ranchers

maybe it’s all too much
and i should shield him more

and then i remember
that’s how we got here
in the first place

generations of people
who lived at the surface of life
instead of getting curious
about better ways to
be human together

while those in
beloved marginalized bodies
bore the hatred and ignorance
and fear of those unwilling
to explore past their
own origin stories

so we keep finding
the tenuous middle
where a ten-year-old
enjoys every square inch
of his childhood

and

he knows (enough) of
what’s happening in our
global story to practice
compassion
empathy
kindness
acceptance
while he slowly
finds his place
and his power
in our collective story

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Books

• There She Is: Love Notes on Finding Home

• Still Here: A Poetry Memoir on Grief & Love

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If you know someone raising kids in this challenging season, consider sharing this with them. We could all use some love.