From A Place Behind The Smile

Ancestral Chains

Screams become as quiet as a whisper.

Searching for reasons to want to exist for.

The patron and matron are fighting and breaking,

And the children feel it's best to begin faking,

All the smiles they give becoming masks,

Building walls so that no one can pass.

Thoughts are held secured and tightly inside,

Intrusive thoughts that hint of ending life.

Surprised that those around aren't capable to see,

The fractured souls, they create so selfishly,

Ignored by people whose job is to protect,

A younger life buried deep in heavy stress.

Supposed to be a life pecking order,

Parents pass before their sons and their daughters,

But fate has been known to occasionally betray,

The assured certainty of living life this way.

Not believing in an all encompassing example,

Or a guide family building that isn't more of a gamble.

Parenting has two options and they're both in extremes.

Either be a doormat or learn how to scream.

Free of the cycle, not knowing where to begin,

Dominant or submissive? We need to find a happy median.

In the middle gen it's hard to discern,

How to address this from lessons that we've never learned.

Oft days can be a struggle. Barely able to tread water.

Kids turning to self- harm, like lambs to the slaughter.

Rage and reactive violence usually,

The way adults would deal with ADHD.

When it came to facing feelings of depression,

It was belittled after heartfelt confessions.

Though the behavior was more than a little abhorrent,

When it came to hurt, the best way was to ignore it.

Pain was expected. Guess it's not supposed to matter,

And it's hard to not just reprat that pattern,

But there's a reason, so many adults are unwell.

Told it's weak to have weakened mental health.

Kids are carrying an invisible weight,

And it's not found out until it's already too late.

Changing the world would help. Exen just a little,

Hard when you're the generation right in the middle.

Treating kids like their too young to have a true understanding,

Compassion and patience is a path worth recommending m

Can't address it in old, established ways.

Burying a child is something no one wants to face.

At the same time, wanting to teach them strength,

And that it's okay to think the thoughts that they think.

Deep struggles that need a deeper solution,

Not empty words, and obvious noise pollution.

Using violence no one should ever abide,

Let the kids know that you're always on their side.

Acknowledge their feelings and they're growing brilliance,

While also teaching them strength and resilience.

Hoping to break these hereditary chains,

And claustrophobic feel of the parenting game.

It takes growth and the honesty to confess,

Parents aren't perfect and they can be a mess,

If there were no wrongs, we'd never know what was right,

Built to be more, so why not give it a try?

It doesn't matter whether you're poor or wealthy,

In the end, we want our kids to feel loved and healthy...