Inheritance

For our children,

Give them long, cool days

beneath unending blue skies.

Let the poison in the air

Dissipate and diffuse.

Let them again fish

in the wondrous deep seas

of their imaginations.

Do not let fear possess them,

do not let it tarnish

their technicolor brilliance.

Let them know

the consoling bark of a favorite dog,

the ordinary joy of friendship.

Protect them,

but do not imprison them

The shade called fear

will always linger;

it will always consume our hearts.

Let them be free,

To wander, to wonder,

To experience love

in ways that only the young can.

Give them the world we once knew

before blades and bullets

shattered our ideals

and killed the child inside.