Invisible Strings Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

Addicted is a dependency,
Consented to defend it.
And rewarded to permit,
A repeating done with assistance.

Enabled are those capable,
Of performing their own tasks.
But kept they are dependent upon,
Others to remove baggage...
Off their backs.

Like children many are kept,
On invisible strings to prevent adulthood.
And growing to become men and women.
With a grooming to bloom like they should.

We treat and keep our children,
Like 'kids' to remain...
Unaccountable for their actions.
Yet blame them for staying,
Dependent and unchanged.

We don't raise our children,
To encourage them to fly.
We become for them a safety net.
With a doing to undermine them.
And criticizing whatever they try.

Addicted is a dependency,
Consented to defend it.
And rewarded to permit,
A repeating done with assistance.

Children reflect a disrespect they get.
Only those who grow into adulthood,
To have known mistakes to face them made.
Are the ones who were left to take those steps.
And alone to correct them.
With a chasing of dependency away.

'I don't 'see' my kids like I use to.'

~Maybe you should 'see' them,
As the men and women they have become.
And not the 'kids',
You would prefer them to stay.~

'Sometimes they would act that way.'

~And those are the times you miss.
But unfortunately...
Your complaints they've heard,
With strings to pull.
From them they have distanced to dismiss.
No matter what they were,
To no longer exist.~