Misunderstandings Poem by Leonard Dabydeen

What misunderstandings reek the mind

when parents are unable to decipher

how their son or daughter is growing up

how he or she makes decisions that

rupture their sentiments

like a cesarean wound? Being too

sentimental jinks the opportunities

for laying the deck of cards on the table

and more like slicing animosities for dinner.

A son's girl-friend or girl's boyfriend

is not a parent's business

why should it be?

and if he or she wants to stay overnight

it is no big deal for the son or daughter

(certainly a big deal for the parents

like night catches day at sunset) .

Where does the truce come from,

if sympathies are lost in the dark

and opinions are strained like porridge?

Over time (go ahead and work on it)

a level approach is requisite love

and a balancing act like a juggler

on a tight rope

if life must continue in crested partnership

it must be as a beautiful rose

on a thorny stem

to wilt and die in mutual satisfaction

with tears always lingering

in the eyes of the relationship

without a total recap

of misunderstandings.