I think of my daughter A potential of tiny feet Soft fine curls Running long limbed Stretching fledgling wings Brand new laughter like melting snow I think of the deep forgotten ordeal of childhood She will be boundless She will be a fish swimming up a waterfall Surging through relentless walls She will be a duckling throwing herself From the nest to float Tiny scrap of soft and precious life The gravity of hundreds of feet flinging her to the ground Unharmed and already forgetting The terror of the fall I think of a snapshot A piece of proof for her to hold When she is a woman, to see That she was (is) a powerful creature A mind creating the world The intensity of a child confronted With the task of pouring water Or watching a worm in its oblivious routine I imagine trying to capture in every image The wonder of her I think of endless fleeting hours Forgetting myself, becoming myself Watching the tender mysteries unfold She will be Self contained She will unmake me and make me again The two of us timeless Through moments which touch eternity.
-Allana Bianco C. 2020
Four years ago, this was the first poem I wrote after years of writers block. Since that time, preparing to be a mother has been the root of a tremendous amount of personal work and learning, and it's been the cause of all my most profound growth. Everything I learn about children shows me that if we want to live in a better world, we have to change the way we see parents. Whether you want to be one or not should be irrelevant to your respect for the role they play. Childhood is crucial to humanity. Parents are inextricable from childhood. Parenthood is the intersection of the most intimate parts of personal life and the most universal elements of human nature and it should never be belittled. How we perceive and support parents and children shapes our future and right now, our society is failing them. The potential for change - profound, beautiful, transformative change - is built in to humanity. Children are born as powerful agents for change. To nurture and protect that process is valuable, difficult, and essential work. I hope one day, we live in a culture where we acknowledge that every day.
