Hollow Words and Climbing Trees
by Michael Doyle

Hanging out on an oak limb 
Beneath the canopy's shadow,
The moves we made brought us safety.
Empty words ring kind of hollow.

Left on their own, kids flourish.
It's the way we allow them to nourish
The decision-making and resiliency
That allows independence and life fluency.

Our scars generally only run skin deep
However many tears we're caused to weep.
But they serve to remind us we do survive
And build up our souls as we stay alive. 

Rock bottoms become our firm foundations.
It's a life well-lived without explanation.
Sometimes those we love hand us darkness,
It's how we rise above it that removes the harshness.

Better sooner than later, so that we learn
Life's lessons we surely need to discern. 
Free life and play have become something of the past,
We need its return, if our children are to last. 

Children need to behave less than to explore,
It's how they push past boundaries, to life's more.
Turning over every rock in that free-flowing stream,
It's how they learn their limits and begin to dream.

If we want our children to become close to brilliant,
We need to allow the hurts that make them resilient.
Falling down just to get back up once again
Is how life moves forward without any tragic end.

We learn to build our lives through compassion,
That comes from learning lessons after a fashion.
Meaningful purpose is found through our experience,
The sooner then later, we put down to preferences.

(c) July 12, 2025   Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved