Dear Subject

When you walk in,
You hide your fear,
You fist your hands
And hold your tears
Embittered by the consequence 
Of things you can't control.
 
Your mother sighs,
And holds your hand,
Her loving gaze has met
 
The solid pain surrounding you,
Your ultimate defense.
 
Dear stranger,
I know because I feel.
 
You've boxed yourself into the corner
Far from her and me
And every twitch of your brow is screaming
"Won't you leave me be?"
From mine to yours, no words come forth.
 
Dear human,
I know because I was.
 
I ask your mom to leave us now,
Her rugged eyes tell all,
The anguish of a lioness
Who's watched her youngest fall
 
Dear child,
I know because I grew.
 
The silence watches,
Counting seconds,
The two of us in silence.
I, yet wrapped in thin assurance,
You, resigned to violence
 
Then finally,
"How can I trust you?"
In your eyes, I see your mother.
Your love, your pride, your strength.
I see a force unlike all others.
 
Dear kid. Dear daughter. Dear neophyte. Dear unsuspecting bud,
The process of your sprightly bloom
Has only just begun
 
"You can't."
 
You shoot back in your seat,
As if shocked to your bones.
Oh, my awkward words.
"No, dear. What I mean is you cannot know."
 
And in your eyes,
I see the flint has struck against your soul.
To resurface is your only task.
To help, my only goal.

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