She Said No … And I Listened (Poem)

She is two years old

And of course (as they say)

“No” is her favorite word

“I’ll just put your stuffies right here”

“No!”

“You can take turns with the toy”

“No!”

“Do you want some banana moon slices?”

“No.”

“Let’s get some clothes on you”

“NOOOO!”

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No is always the first word

Never yes

(Everyone knows this, somehow)

Perhaps because yes doesn’t need to be said

Yes is we are one, together, of a mind

But no is I am not you and you are not me

Yes is the unspoken beginning of experience

The unity of creation

No is the fall from grace

But no is a revelation

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She is two years old

And sleeping now.

The stress of absorbing her no and no and no today

Is faded as I watch her unconscious angel face

And I bless her nos

And pray that they never stop

Because I have seen the silencing of no

And I wish her to always stand fierce against it

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And in time, she will learn the power

Of maybe, of just a little, of let’s talk about it

But these must be built on the foundation of no

Lest the self crumble beneath them

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Hold fast to your self, my little one

If angels must fall

We must simply be there to catch them