A poem in which an aging
parent passes on some family responsibilities to the next generation:
There are things I can no longer do
Once essential to my sense of me.
It seems so strange to pass them on to you,
Strange and very beautiful, as you
Take on the burdens of the family,
Doing what I can no longer do,
Things I cannot, even should not do,
And understand why you can't leave to me.
I want to say how proud I am of you,
How grateful we can all rely on you
To take my place as head of family,
Taking care of what I used to do,
Switching roles, which I've found hard to do,
And to accept what's happening to me.
More and more I must depend on you
To do the things I can no longer do,
As less and less I can depend on me.
How strange! What I routinely used to do,
I must, with much regret, pass on to you.
© by Nicholas Gordon
Audio and Video Music: Bittersweet.
By SYBS. Music free to use at YouTube. Illustration Credit: AI.
To see this poem on my site, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/ther52.html. For more poems to children, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/childrenpoems.html . For more villanelles, go to https://www.poemsforfree.com/villanelles.html .
