Seeking approval –

For as long as you go back,

In the time you’ve been around,

That you can remember –

This has been

First cab off the rank,

In all of life’s moments.

From when you were

A toddler barely off diapers,

Or still in them,

From seeking

In your carers’ eyes,

Joyous approval

For your baby steps,

Literal and metaphorical;

To the butterflies in your tummy,

As you waited for someone

To become your best buddy,

For the next several months

And every step of the way.

Every big moment everyday

Has been one of reckoning,

Sometimes with another,

Sometimes yourself;

That moment when you wondered,

If you were good

Enough;

If your actions and your words

Measured,

“Am I good?”

You learnt to ask,

Even before you knew

That was a thing.

Image Credit: Photo by Lukáš Rychvalský on StockSnap