Revival

Do not be afraid
to hold her in your lap:
the thrashing arms
and thrusting legs
the sometimes silent screams of
"Don't tell me what to do!"
Do not be afraid.
She is listening;
longing to be seen
for all of who she is:
angry
frustrated
blocked by her hopelessness,
her fear of Not Knowing How.
Do not be afraid.
For if you withdraw,
who will help her
to invite Not Knowing
(a nickname for the taming)
into her own, small lap?
Who will show her
how to love that exiled one
as much as
anger and frustration?
If you stay back,
insist she calm and soften
before you love her,
who will help her to unseal and lift open
the window to her cautious heart?
Who will help unlock and release
the door to her fledgling trust?
Who will breathe with her
the cross breeze
of her yearning
for discovery,
so that hopelessness, too,
might be lifted from the floor
brought in to rest
between you?