LJ Idol: Fear is the heart of love

[my_name_is_jenn]

Love Through the YearsYou never hear "I love you" from your father, only your mother

Comments

[eternal_ot]

I like the conclusion that you drew and I am happy that it's positive. Great work with the prompt. Kudos!

[my_name_is_jenn]

There are a lot of days when that conclusion isn't what my mind wants to believe, but those days are becoming fewer and fewer.

Thanks. :)

[halfshellvenus]

There's so much here that could be true for so many people.

The first stanza is about 'conditional' love, which is almost guaranteed to harm the child's self-esteem and make them afraid of being unworthy of love.

Too many loved ones lost too close together is a blow that is hard to recover from, especially for children. So sad. :(

If you move too often (my family did that too), it is hard not to reach the lesson you learned in stanza 3.

But I'm so glad you decided to seek love and friendship, despite the risk of loss. Without it, living is more like "existing", and while that seems safe, it is not usually a path toward happiness.

[my_name_is_jenn]

Yeah, conditional love is a hell of a thing for a child to get over. I'm still not completely over it, to be honest.

I went to my 5th funeral before I was 13. I knew all of them very well, too. My uncle's death when I was 8 hit me especially hard as that was the first family member I lost and after that I was terrified of immediate family members dying.

You are so right - living is more like "existing", which feels safe, but is not filled with the happiness that we as human beings crave. :)

[penpusher]

A positive piece with a perfect ending that ties it all together!

[my_name_is_jenn]

Thank you. :)

[mamas_minion]

I love the poem, and i am glad it ended on a happy note.

[my_name_is_jenn]

Thanks. I'm glad, too. :)