The Third Thing

"We'll all swim around together. Right, Mama? She looked at me, waiting. I nodded, not sure if I was happy, or sad, or some third thing." ~ Molly Wizenburg in her memoir The Fixed Stars.

Write about the third thing however you define it. That was the writing prompt. I hadn’t read the above memoir. Here’s what I came up with.

When a child’s innocence stares you in the face
A lying con person you seem to become
For you know the truths of life and how you will not every time rise with grace
And yet the child looks at you with joy and expectant some

The parents are eternal – so the children seem to believe
How to break it to them that this is but temporary?
We can love, yes. But, around the corner is to grieve
Knowing this, how can we all make merry? 

The joy of being a parent is anything but mild
But, I also remember being a child 
When is that innocence replaced with the dread of uncertainty
That we bear for as long as eternity

Oh dear God, how long does my child have
To be fearless? Give her the salve.