This poem reflects on what it means to
live alongside children-
to be taught by their trust, challenged
by their gaze,
and called into responsibility both as
individuals and as a society.
It is a meditation on care, protection,
and the future we choose to build together.
Living with Children
Living with children-
taught by them, we learn the path of being human;
trusted by them, we walk that path as human beings.
Children live-
their lives must be protected by us as human beings;
their tomorrows must be created by us as a society.
Living with children-
in their gaze, our human ethics are called into question;
in their gaze, our human compassion is called into question.
Children live-
the dreams they hold, we wish to nurture as human beings;
the environments in which they learn,
we wish to secure as a society.
Living with children-
their aspirations must never be reduced to nothing by us as human beings;
their aspirations must never be betrayed by us as human beings.
In this present where children live-
their grief must never, under any circumstance,
be inflicted by us as human beings;
their fear must never, under any circumstance,
be permitted by us as a society.