Tough Love in the Jungle of Life

Never is easy to be a man,

Twice harder is to be a father,

But this is how the world goes.

You have to teach your kids

The first steps into the jungle of life,

How to survive,

When to be tough, when to be kind.

How to measure loyalty of a friend,

Whom to trust, what is betrayal.

When to say “no”, when to say “yes”

And still to be rightful man. 

It takes courage to be a father

And admit your own mistakes.

When the kids grow, you grow

Step by step. And one day

You have to help them spread

Their wings,

But somehow it hurts to know

They are not kids anymore.

With hart torn a part

You look in the mirror 

– Few wrinkles define your face

And gray hair just began to appear.

In this jungle race

You gave all your wisdom and love.

Now you can soften a bit,

Take a deep breath and slowly repeat

“This is life, this life, my dear!” 

And you know, you’ve done something right

- Tough love in the jungle of life.

By Petrouchka Alexieva

From: United States