To be the parent node, or the source of life
For something beyond what you yourself contain,
Is a special position, in a world of relationship.
The reason for existence for something so small,
And the source of a desperate persistence in the world,
Soon strong enough to declare itself independent.
Of the source of life, only the parent knows
How fragile the connection can feel sometimes—
How tenuous the lines that draw the child node back.
No parent can insure life against tragedy, and no
child node can escape the truth of it's source.
This is all we're given to go on, and yet we go.