Permission

You were a child, a dreamer

lying in meadow grass,

sunshine, a soft, warm blanket.

You imagined creatures

in the clouds meandering above.

Created stories you kept hidden

for no one you knew understood.

 

Consequences are learned early

when everyone forgets you’re a child.

You withdrew instead of emerging.

You practiced self-protection instead of risk.

You tamped down imagination.

for no one you knew understood

 

Relearning a child’s wonder is hard

as an adult, when you’re out of practice

and folded inward like a tulip bud.

You keep baby steps to yourself.

Create silently, quietly, blindly

always protectively alone

for no one you know will understand.

 

Sascha Darlington