Teenage Angst

We had fifteen years of joy and some tears.
Your journey printed, etched upon the heart,
Sharing your hopes, allaying all your fears,
Begrudging each minute we were apart -
We did our best to give you a good start.

How did we feel when you went your own way
On paths that would break you if they held sway?
Helpless in all but the strength of our love
But that you foreswore and held us at bay
With Damocles' sword unsteady above,

Held over our heads and ready to fall.
In your rush for freedom at any price
You ignored the risk of destroying all
As you wavered beneath the gnawing mice
That weakened the thread. Life ends in a trice.

If you have children, you'll know how it feels;
How, when they are threatened, the blood congeals;
To what lengths you'd go to protect your child;
What joy it is when the strength of love heals
Tears in the fabric - and you're reconciled.