See a child that falls and grazes its knees,

It cries and wails, frustrated, scared,

Lashing out in anger at all it sees,

Out of fear, its teeth are bared.

It has not yet known this pain,

It comes as a shock, it gasps,

Impotent protestations, all in vain,

Searching for salvation, it grasps.

It bites the hand which lends assistance,

Swats away the help so desperately sought,

Wipes the tears, with defiant insistence,

A lesson learned, which cannot be taught.

It runs and bounds ahead once more,

As if nothing had ever occurred,

Before long, again finds itself on the floor,

Though this time, utters not a single word.

The hurt was this time anticipated,

The shock pre-emptively absorbed,

Intense emotions now abated,

Stands and carries on undisturbed.

If we were inclined to intervene,

Catch them as they fall through the air,

The lesson would remain unseen,

Their life would be stunted and unfair.

For pain is the mother of wisdom,

Suffering the father of ease,

If you see them fall, let them,

Let your children graze their knees.

By Taylor J Hayes