Let Me Fly Poem by Priyanka Upadhyay

Our parents stumbled into parenthood and then bumbled their way through it.
And we, on our own, with Food, clothing, shelter, and education
School reports signed with a desultory hand
And a bad report card expressed half-hearted whacks followed by ice cream.

Learnt to cycle by renting badly maintained cycles by the half hour.
Fell often, and washed our knees with plain water and started all over.
Afternoon snacks consisted of unwashed raw mangoes, garnished with salt and chili powder.
Plucked from the neighboring compound, all the tastier.

Invented re-used board games and co-authored books.
Constructed paper boats; visited public libraries to read the latest Bahadur comics.
Started our own libraries, which closed in a week
Sold lemonade to the indulgent Aunties and Uncles

Squabbled with our friends, found resolution without policies.
Experimented with unusual foods and rescued stray dogs.
Collected rocks and pressed leaves.
Undirected, on how to gainfully use our time

Without being actively aware, they sowed in us seeds
Seeds of resilience and bravery which have held us in good stead.
Learnt to push boundaries, build self-belief
We fell, but we picked ourselves, indeed

Our Children today bereft of that balmy neglect.
We put every moment of our child's life to 'optimal' use.
Hobbies pre-ordained, friendships filtered, and leisure monitored.
His skills programmed, and desires assumed.

Clothes are coordinated, hands are sanitized,
His diet is supervised. His demands are preempted.
His self-belief never confronted, his creativity lays sleeping.
His imagination shackled by glossy screens.

The desire to be best friends with our kids so big,
Skills needed to build long lasting, nurturing relations with outsiders, eroded
Our need to protect overpowers the child's need to prospect.
Give them a chance. Leave them alone.

Hover less.
Turn a Blind Eye to the process of metamorphosis.
Just as its struggles readies the solitary pupa to face the wind
The caterpillar will surely turn into a butterfly.
Give them a chance. Leave them alone. Let them fly.