Parent Poems

Dear Parents,

As your children we love collecting things…
We collect bugs.
We collect dolls.
We collect the feathers that fall from birds.
But we’re also listening to everything you say
and collecting all your words.

Your words of compassion.
Your words of joy.
When you call someone a...Read More

A rickety old chair sits in a corner of our house…it’s a chair no one can fit in.
Which begs the question why hold onto a chair we never intend to sit in.

If you asked I’d tell you, “That old chair,...Read More

Well, which is it – till, until or that odd-
looking miscreant ‘til, a botched up job?
And how and why does it matter if the use
of ‘til by writers is not seen as an abuse?
Granted, when spoken it matters not a...Read More

I was born to be a survivor and a fighter.
That's why I became a writer.
As a child the physical abuse I endured.
Being a baby it was pretty absurd.

The child of recovering addicts.
Even one that still until recently would slip.
Watching a...Read More

If you ain't the parent, you need to stay in your lane.
A distant relationship with your child is all you'll gain.
You need to let your child be the parent and make the choices.
Because at some point your abusive behaviors will...Read More

I am so proud of you, my son
Proud of the man you've turned into
Proud of who you have become
I had no doubt that's what you would do.

I'm honored that you chose me, son
I'm know that Dad is too
To parent you...Read More

Parent Teacher conferences are on Thursday
Tommy has torn up the sign-up sheet three times
Not wanting his parents and teacher to ever meet
To compare notes
and talk about how disrespectful he is
how rude he was that one day.
Expecting nothing wonderful to happen
he...Read More

The understanding of respect can get twisted.
I dont care if your the parent, your child's choices cant be restricted.
Respect is not a given, it's something that is earned.
I dont care if you're blood family or not, that respect can be...Read More

A note to all the new parents of special needs babies?
Hello New Mom,
Congratulations, you are now part of a world where there is exquisite beauty.
Along with that beauty will come a hardship few can expound on. You are in the...Read More

?As if a child should understand an  adult’s muddle,
putrid oil slick puddle,
the dreadful pain we foist on wide-eyed offspring.
Robotic elders crush with rigid slabs of Portland censure whatever spark remains in t iny rosebud coloured cheeks before their prime.
Those...Read More

When you see someone bettering themselves.
Sometimes you need to swallow your pride and put your ego on a shelf.
You may not like a person's decision.
Their goals are not what is in your vision.

You dont have the right to control what...Read More

Remember the days of
                   yesteryear
when family ties were
              ...Read More

Success
by Michael R. Burch

for Jeremy

We need our children to keep us humble
between toast and marmalade;

there is no time for a ticker-tape parade
before bed, no award, no bright statuette

to be delivered for mending skinned knees,
no wild bursts of approval for shoveling...Read More

My Child

I have failed in my duty as a parent. 
You have fallen away. 
What can I say now to the Lord, 
as I am less , 
and left "marked" and wanting. 
The depression of my heart thickens, 
as I...Read More

When I was young
You loved me unconditionally
There was nothing
You wouldn’t do for me
You even gave me
Your last
As I grew up
You tried to teach me
Some of life’s lessons
Because you were in the world
When I hurt
You comforted me
Often telling me
Everything will be...Read More

A classroom is a lonely place
For a child who feels unloved and disrespected
For a child who sees every sneer and whisper
As a personal threat
Thinking each one has her name on it

A classroom is a torturous cell for a child
Who has...Read More

I tasted leaves
the season of aged skin
Below me was the ground
gray in pieces
 
At George Akens
I saw us sittin
in a dull orange booth
sippin long cool drinks
and eatin chicken
down to the bone
and talkin about the springs
when we went fishin
in the close past
we...Read More

We stand outside, in heat or cold 
And one by one, each class
Is marched outside to reunite
With we who wait, en masse.

The teachers watch to match each child 
With parent, sitter or
A nana or a grandpa
Huddled near the exit door.

The...Read More

do what makes you happy
feed it, walk the walk
oh yeah, 'cause for anyone to grow-  we needs some sun

"I" is the self in me
it is my identity and separates me from others
the "I" of me is not chaotic, unreasonable,...Read More

Yes, I love you,
But not like some sniveling Juliet.

I love you more like a gambler loves the plug;
He bet his last dollar on in the third race.

I know you'll finish, if have to drag you with brute force
Across the finish...Read More

God of Heaven!
I am here on Earth
To follow a Divine mandate
Of being a loving Mother
I know I have no strength
To this on my own
I pray for your wisdom
So, I can carry this task
Without a fright

As I raise these children 
Please...Read More

innocents throw snowballs at traffic

whiz to the past, where

a parent would receive their little scoundrel

and a swift scolding. . .


swiftly we return to present day

where the payout for a child’s slight:


sadly it’s raining bullets

and the innocents fall

like Autumn leaves

red and...Read More

Believe me, not desired this life.
A family, what I wished
like, others wanted to feel love.
Guidance of my parent missed.
Since birth brought up in orphanage;
envied mates when they were kissed 
by their parents at our school gate.
Despair feeling felt as kid,
it...Read More

Frankly, my dear, I am giving the gift of time
To children whose parents do not know how to rhyme
I am running from parent teacher conference, to and fro.
Letting the misbehaving children’s lackadaisical parents know
Their children need to stay home another...Read More

Joining class after retirement was wrong act.
Again, I have to sit with assignment work.
Teachers will surely make me learn; that is fact.
I'll be outlier in class with hidden smirk.
My class performance and progress will be tracked.
Ultimately, I'll not be able...Read More