ah, child
ah, the child within us
bleeding from gentle cuts
those who ‘know what’s best’
give without recognition
of children’s deepest needs
causing pallor in our impulse
toward empathy
and ischemia in our surety of acceptance
of self and thus of others
the unloved dies a victim of neglect
and learned hatred
staggering on, we settle for criteria
of worth as wealth, power and
cosmetic beauty
even as the child within us weeps
knowing these are superficial and
unworthy of our brief lives