"Steps" by Kaitlyn Vaughn

Steps

Kaitlyn Vaughn

Weekends come, and weekends go

But certain ones, he always knows

"Steps" Ink on Paper
By J. Artemus Gordon

Days come, and days, also, go

But his voice, she never knows.

One lies awake in bed

Missing and remembering words she’s said

Another lies in a peaceful slumber

A word from him was but a murmur.

How saddening it is to watch one’s child

Grow up within a mile of her own family

But she they never stop to see.

How saddening it is to see one’s child

Watch his mother linger around

Just long enough to uplift her “mother’s” crown.

Selfish are parents who walk away 

From their children who soon forget to play

For they grow up too quickly

From seeing their parents forget them completely.

Seriousness begins to furrow their brows

Altogether forgetting their childhood vows

To live, laugh, and be HAPPY.

How can a small one do just that

When a parent so willingly takes his/her leave?

Never comprehending the direct damage

That denying these babies the love they deserve

Can only drain and famish themselves in the end.

Unbeknownst to the children and the senseless parents

Until time turns the young ones old

And they remember their steps.

Poet’s Notes:  I gained a stepson when I married, and he is absolutely wonderful.  I wish I felt the same about my stepson’s biological mother and, for that matter, my own daughter’s biological father.

In the last line, I refer to the children as remembering their “steps.”  In this case, I refer to my husband and me as their “steps” as in “stepparents” but also to the “steps” that the children have taken and will take throughout their lives with their stepparents’ help, love, and guidance.

Editor’s Note:  There is wisdom here that goes way beyond Kaitlyn’s years, and I wish to take this opportunity to thank Kaitlyn for sharing this deeply personal yet sadly all-too-universal narrative with Songs of Eretz.  I read recently in Imprimis that half of all babies in the United States are now born out of wedlock, and single moms raise well over half.  Kaitlyn’s daughter and stepson are fortunate that they now live in such a loving blended family.