Look up, my child, look up

If I could only have one person hear me, it would be my child.

If and when I bring another human being to this world, one day he or she will be where I am:

Lost, unsure, sensitive of his or her environment like it's something to be reviled.

When that day comes, I will pull my child to the side, and say to that innocent lamb:

 

"What are you doing, being scared? What are you doing, letting life pass you by?

Yes, there have been moments where you've dirt in your eyes and grime in your heart,

where you'll look up at those who used to sit with you in class and ask 'why?'

But look around; those classmates are gone. So by locking yourself up, what are you trying to start?

 

Yes, there have been days when you just want to stop,

because, simply put, you're just not good enough.

With a rope or a gun as your prop,

It would have been easy, but you didn't, and that's what makes you tough.

 

Look up, my child, look up. What do you see?

There're stars, there're planets, but other than that, there's space.

Space that's open, space that's free.

But there's more to that than meets first glance.

 

For without space, what would have held the stars and the planets?

Without space, how would those stars grow?

You see, my child, space is like a bunch of blankets;

Ready to warm you, ready to comfort you, and it'll never slow.

 

You, my child, have the universe to warm you, that's what it's for.

Regardless of what life has done to you, it also has so much to offer.

You don't need to settle the score,

not when there's so much outside of your little coffer.

 

So the next time you look up, my child,

Know that the stars can be in your grasp.

So why look at life as if it's to be reviled?

Instead, do what I didn't do, and take life by the clasp."

 

Despite what I say or don't say, it might not be enough.

But if my child at least hears it, then he or she will know,

that their mother loves them, and that's no bluff.

 

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