The kitten ran Helter skelter Scared, very scared Neighborhood kids Tried to reason with it But it was too small Full of fear Confused maybe Maybe it felt attacked While actually it was Being rescued
Rescuers didn’t earn Its trust perhaps But they were sure It ought to trust them The more they tried Befriending it More it shrank Into the shadows
Lessons in trust Are most difficult To learn It’s a language It’s an action That promises safety Both sides need to be Calm and patient To set this dialogue stage On safe middle grounds
What is the language of trust? What is the language of love? No one teaches these We are supposed to learn them Context, syntax and meaning Most often we learn the hard way After the trust is broken And love breaks the trust
In that darkness Tiny kitten couldn’t see Trust or love in the eyes While everyone saw Fear in its eyes When they backed off It ran for its life Away from the life It took a while For it to return To this game of Hide and seek again
Maybe it will survive Maybe it won’t Depends on what lurks In the darkness One can only hope It finds its way to To the bowl of milk Waiting for it Food often builds trust So does tender care
Tenderness is rare No one teaches us that too Knowingly, unknowingly It comes our way Like the gentle breeze That helps us breathe
Love can be suffocating It can smother and kill What it pretends to protect While trying to control We never try to understand Children’s language Instead we expect them To comprehend ours
Children too run Helter skelter With fear in the eyes Unsure why Mistrust masquerades As trust And anger as love Like Pavlov’s subjects Why does it all Have to be reward Or punishment?
When will we learn To back off? And wait patiently With food and trust On the table And tender love in Our hearts?