deepundergroundpoetry.com
Dear Daddies - Dealing With Betrayal
My feet skitter out of control on tiny pebbles towards the black edge for a moment before sheer determination to stop finally wins. I get an uncomfortably close view of a deep, dark chasm whose depths have only been explored by an unenviable few.
This expanse I call the obliviating grief of betrayal. Broken at the distant bottom are sweet assumptions and innocent inexperience with the black truth of sold out birthrights. Down there with them are the bodies of fathers and mothers. The ones who couldn't stop at the edge of it all and took the plummet, too.
You see, when parenting becomes you and "Daddy" is your title instead of your name being remembered, suddenly your children have you by the throat. You are Daddy. Now, this in itself is a grief which becomes an honorary position. You sacrifice homes, cars, jobs, geographic ambitions... all in the name of love and the new you.
Watch and see what happens when your kids decide to upgrade you with a better model. One who lives in a "better" area, or who grooms them with lies, or who has more stuff to give than you ever could. Watch and see how you react when you are unwillingly used as part of a bullying campaign to make your child run away, ashamed of you. You, for being a lowly self-sacrificing daddy.
Don't have nightmares. Just like you would buy a gun, keep your camera handy. Take footage and photos of every wonderful and pivotal moment with your child. Write true stories about your love for them, and theirs for you.
Because when the day comes that you are betrayed, you will not have betrayed yourself by forgetting what you had.
This expanse I call the obliviating grief of betrayal. Broken at the distant bottom are sweet assumptions and innocent inexperience with the black truth of sold out birthrights. Down there with them are the bodies of fathers and mothers. The ones who couldn't stop at the edge of it all and took the plummet, too.
You see, when parenting becomes you and "Daddy" is your title instead of your name being remembered, suddenly your children have you by the throat. You are Daddy. Now, this in itself is a grief which becomes an honorary position. You sacrifice homes, cars, jobs, geographic ambitions... all in the name of love and the new you.
Watch and see what happens when your kids decide to upgrade you with a better model. One who lives in a "better" area, or who grooms them with lies, or who has more stuff to give than you ever could. Watch and see how you react when you are unwillingly used as part of a bullying campaign to make your child run away, ashamed of you. You, for being a lowly self-sacrificing daddy.
Don't have nightmares. Just like you would buy a gun, keep your camera handy. Take footage and photos of every wonderful and pivotal moment with your child. Write true stories about your love for them, and theirs for you.
Because when the day comes that you are betrayed, you will not have betrayed yourself by forgetting what you had.
Published 21st Dec 2019
All writing remains the property of the author. Don't use it for any purpose without their permission.
likes 1
reading list entries 0
comments 1
reads 383
Commenting Preference:
The author encourages honest critique.
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
Proverbs 22:6
The rebellious age is no joke - been there three times myself. Keep the faith and claim the victory of Love. It will never fail. These are lessons the prodigal sons and daughters must learn on their own.
Proverbs 22:6
The rebellious age is no joke - been there three times myself. Keep the faith and claim the victory of Love. It will never fail. These are lessons the prodigal sons and daughters must learn on their own.
