Choose wisely.
Your essence,
your sweet perfect vulnerability
can only be shared
for the first time
once.
The act,
powerful and primal,
bond souls
like cosmic superglue,
compelling the heart
to attempt
to fit mismatching pieces,
to re-calibrate standards,
but first loves
are rarely meant
to be last loves.
Each of us,
with eyes closed,
steps off the cliff
in faith,
never knowing
the value of
our choice
until afterwards.
As you enter
the arena of adult situations,
heartache and ecstasy,
don’t forget your helmet,
because the bonding
is so strong,
it can knock your brain
so silly,
that you can be persuaded
into mistaking
a dream
for reality.
[Written for #OpenLinkNight at www.dversepoets.com, my favorite site for poetry on the internet.]
Mosk, this is so very true! Good advice you have given here to anyone of that vulnerable age who will listen, but (of course) oftentimes the young will think they know better...and it may take a while for them to know you are 100% ABSOLUTELY right!
ReplyDeleteThanks, and yes, the only ones who will listen already know this to be the truth.
Deletelove how you describe this...it IS a powerful bond and goes way beyond what we can imagine when we take that leap.. i really wish i had chosen more wisely for my first time...
ReplyDeleteThank you, and yes, it is so powerful.
DeleteOh gosh, with a 16 year old girl champing at the bit to start dating, I am with you all the way on this one.
ReplyDeleteYou said it in poetical form so well.
Thanks, mom, I'm right there with you.
Deletetruth man....it is a risk that should not be taken lightly as it can def have lasting consequences in your life...and love will def jack you up...esp at those early ages where it is often experimentation and is fleeting...
ReplyDeleteThanks brother, yes, love will jack you up.
DeleteMosk, I love this--so few carry their helmets. I know I didn't--and I am sure my daughters didn't either---
ReplyDeleteThanks, and on the plus side, those bumps and scars are great for material.
Deletehind sights 20/20...and us ladies tend to carry our mistakes longer than you strapping boys...wise words Wise One...hope they are heeded. Fantastic write once again, Poet.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tash, and naw they won't heed them.
DeleteHow true - but if we're lucky the trust is shared and the joy is for life. Somehow that is not even long enough.
ReplyDeleteYes, those are the enviable few. Thanks.
Delete"Each of us,
ReplyDeletewith eyes closed,
steps off the cliff
in faith,
never knowing
the value of
our choice
until afterwards." ahhh and my daughter, the college student has her first "real" boyfriend... these thoughts are going through THIS mother's mind.
My prayers are with you. It's a truly frightening experience to let your daughters loose upon a testosterone drenched world.
DeleteAh, Buddah, you have captured this so well, without it becoming a lecture. No fairy tales here. The bond from the first is strong, but rarely a lifetime commitment. Hopefully the first will be a sweet moment to be stored away in the caches of her memory (as I have stored in mine). Choose carefully, choose wisely and don't feel the need to rush...all in good time.
ReplyDeleteAmen, and thank you.
Deletea powerful piece succinctly expressed!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much.
DeleteOh yes, so very true.... Would that we could protect them, but I suppose a helmet will have to do....
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, yes we can only equip them.
ReplyDeleteI sure want my kids to listen to your words. Goodness knows they probably won't listen to me.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I'll speak to your kids if you'll speak to mine. Deal?
DeleteI give up. My thoughts on this subject are too much in contrast with the other commenters. Your words are sweet and obviously spoken by a dad. :)
ReplyDeleteOy~ You hit the nail on the head. That 4th stanza resonates, particularly w. me. Right on, Mosk!
ReplyDeleteI thought we needed chastise devices. A helmet!! Ingenious!! Thank you 40 years too late...
ReplyDeleteI'm almost speechless, where almost is the keyword. I love this poem because it says so much but it feels like it has a hidden softness or vulnerability, I can't say which.
ReplyDeletegreat advice here, for sure. loved that last verse, and the "cosmic superglue"! :)
ReplyDeleteLove it! If only young people actually listened to our advice...but of course they know so much more than us.
ReplyDeleteWise, this lesson, shared. Still living with and loving my first, I have no point of reference such as this. That proved a bit of a challenge with my children's first-broke hearts.
ReplyDeleteone, I'm not sure a helmet will make a difference and, two, the age of first loves is a frivolous and often defiant one—their not really good at taking advice. nonetheless, it is a good and hard lesson; sometimes the mistake is worth the lesson.
ReplyDeleteOh! Well said, Mosk! Cosmic superglue, indeed! Good or bad -- that connection will always be there. Choose wisely = good advice. ;-)
ReplyDeleteNever knowing the value of our choice until afterwards... So true!
ReplyDelete