Deny or Embrace

Deny or Embrace
by Keaton Foster


Upon a curb
Alone, absurd
A child, once small
Now cast aside
Never again

There she went
Left me alone
The world turned hard
Cold as stone
Her and me—
Mother and child—
She had to flee
With or without me
Her choice was clear

Never was I asked
Nor a thought spared
For what I wished
At twelve years old
Discarded like trash

To wrestle the wind
To toil alone
I’d never find her
Lost she became—
A shadow of mind,
A void in my heart

There on that curb,
A mountain loomed
I could have leaped
To certain doom—
But I climbed down

To stand with others
To grow as a man
Survival my home
Doing what I could—
She must have too

Such is life:
Her choice to run,
Mine to endure
We do what we must
Fate pulls the strings

Some are born to it,
Some are forced by it
All must face it—
I was just a child
She, just a mom

She fled to escape
I stayed to survive
I’ve made my way
She’s disappeared—
Maybe she’s fine

In this world of wolves,
She’s played both roles:
Predator, prey
Once I was hers—
Now I’m her echo

I won’t weep for me
A tear for her alone
For I found my path—
But she, I fear,
Remains lost…


Written by Keaton Foster Copyright © 2008-2025