Bit by bit, our children grow away... <br /> <br />They're only partly like us from the start: <br />their genes have formed new combinations <br />like kaleidoscopes when shaken. <br /> <br />And then we slowly bring them up <br />in what we hope is an enlightened way, <br />trying not to make mistakes our parents made, <br />but making new ones, unavoidably. <br />Who ever does a course in parenthood? <br /> <br />At school the teachers who they listen to, <br />and friends they make, are unknown quantities; <br />their lives are shifted by such tricks of fate. <br /> <br />So it's not surprising - simply sad - <br />to watch then grow away.<br /><br />Robert Melliard<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/our-children-grow-away/
