The Sovereign Child - my poem published in the 'Tolly Tatler', Spring Edition, 2026.
The Sovereign Child From swaddled breath to independent stride, The human soul rehearses many selves. Each season sheds a skin, assumes a shape, Until the mirror holds a stranger’s gaze. From borrowed names and handed-down belief We journey toward a voice we call our own. Some truths we keep from hearths that warmed our youth, Some truths we bend, and some we cast aside. The child becomes a country unto self, With borders drawn by conscience, choice, and doubt. No writ of claim endures beyond the womb; No parent holds the copyright of fate. Love does not grant dominion over will, Nor memory confers the right to rule. Two sovereign lives may share a familiar road, Yet walk by stars that differ in their pull. They meet at points of laughter and of grief, And part at questions neither can resolve. Wisdom resides in learning what to hold, And what, in kindness, must be let alone. When arms grow tight with fear of being lost, They bruise the very bond they se...