James Mclain Poet Free verse

Proverbs And Free Will

I tell my children
the world will press them like a thumb
into soft clay,
leaving its print on their faces,
its heat in their hands.
I tell them they must choose
how hard they will let it press.

I say: love is not a leash.

It is a door standing open in the night
with a lamp burning behind it.
You may walk out, you may wander,
but you will always know
where the light lives.

I say: right is not always loud.
Sometimes it is a small voice
tapping inside your ribs,
asking you to stop,
to turn,
to kneel beside the one who has fallen.

I say: your brothers and sisters
are not only the ones who share your blood,
but the ones whose pain
passes through your body
like a second heartbeat.
When you feel that ache,
do not look away.
That is your calling.

Choose with your whole chest.
Choose with your palms open.
Choose as if the future
is already watching you
and learning how to be human.

And remember—
my love is not a reward.
It is the ground beneath you.
It is the light you walk in.
It is the place you return to
when the world has asked too much.

Choose freely, my children.
Choose bravely.
Choose what makes the dark
step back in awe.

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