Roberta Writes – d’Verse and Sunday Stills

#d'Verse, photography, poetry, Sunday Stills 1 Minute

Lillian is hosting d’Verse Poetics Tuesday. You can join in here: https://dversepoets.com/2026/10/06/introducing-an-eight-year-old-artist/

Picture caption: Art by eight-year-old Azul

What is support? (freestyle poem)

What is support?

Is it imposing your view

on what constitutes

appropriate subject choices

at school and even college?

Is it deciding on suitable

extra curricular activities

that lead towards achievement

of your idea

of appropriate life goals?

Is it forcefully manipulating

your child’s career decisions

citing financial success

as the only criteria?

Is support achieving

your own aspirations

through your child?

***

What is unconditional love?

Is it guiding your child

towards the safe option?

Wrapping him in cotton wool

keeping him protected

from all of life’s knocks?

Is it ensuring

he doesn’t make your mistakes

or any of his own either?

Is unconditional love

letting him go?

Allowing him the freedom

to make his own choices

learn from his own experiences

rise with the highs and

plunge with the lows?

Is unconditional love

providing the tools

for him to build his own life

and live it

the way he chooses to?

Sunday Stills

Hugh is standing in for Terri while she is abroad on vacation. Hugh’s theme for this week is ephemeral. You can join in here: https://hughsviewsandnews.com/2026/10/04/sunday-stills-photo-challenge-capturing-ephemeral-moments/

The four photographs in the gallery below are animal shots taken at sunset in two different game reserves in South Africa.

Three hippos in the lake at sunset
A single hippo in the lake at sunset
Three giraffes feeding at sunset
A single giraffe feeding at sunset

The photographs below are some of my favourite animal and other captures during the day time.

A herd of Cape Buffalo drinking at the dam in the early morning
A mother cheetah and her four young cubs feeding
The dam in the Pilanesberg National Park steaming after a sudden big drop in temperatures
A leopard pausing at the top of a koppie just before disappearing
Five giraffes watching a pair of lions sleeping.
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Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

Published

86 thoughts on “Roberta Writes – d’Verse and Sunday Stills”

  8. That’s an excellent poem Robbie. It’s hard to watch your children make mistakes, even fail. I know I was not perfect, but I did try to let them be who they are. Which is not like me at all. Or like each other. (K)

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  9. There are no easy answers to the questions posed in your poem. I am very relieved at the grown woman my daughter has become, despite a series of bad decisions when she was young.

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  10. I read once when we were expecting our first baby that prospective parents expect their baby to be a combination of the best characteristics of each parent. But of course each child is a totally unique individual, not your chance to make up for disappointments in your own lives! Wise words in your poem.

    I love the single giraffe. I can read his quizzical expression, even though we canโ€™t see his face.

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  11. Love your poem, Robbie. Of course the last part is the part I answer “Yes” to.

    The cheetah shot is stunning, the giraffe silhouette incredible and all the animals… amazing.

    Thank you, Robbie! Wonderful post. ๊งโ˜…๊ง‚

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      1. I agree with you. I never had kids, but for sure my parents would have had better luck with me had they thought like you.

        Yay! Rembrandt next week!

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  19. Beautiful and amazing photos. Support is certainly not imposing your view. The path of our children is not ours and we need to support their path. We can of course try to help them avoid what looks like obvious mistakes but not impose our will and not our path. Anyway, your poem ask good questions and is filled with wisdom.

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    1. Hi Thomas, thank you. I just finished reading Dead Poetโ€™s Society which has a tragic outcome to an overbearing fatherโ€™s dictatorship behaviour. I was very upset the teacher took the blame that belonged to the father. Anyhow, Iโ€™m glad you appreciated my thoughts.

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  20. A thought-provoking poem, Robbie. I think as parents we should love, guide, and provide as best we can without imposing (too much ๐Ÿ˜‰). If we’re fortunate, we learn from our children as much as we teach.

    Gorgeous photos! I can’t pick a favorite.

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  21. Thank you for joining me for Sunday Stills, Robbie. I’ve never been on safari, so your pictures were amazing. I love the sunset photos, since I don’t get to see many sunsets because of where we live. I get to see plenty of sunrises, though.

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    1. Hi Hugh, thanks for hosting the challenge with such a great theme. I really liked it. I see sunsets and sunrises when on safari as itโ€™s to hot out in the middle of the day. I love animals snd could spend all day watching them.

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      1. We have lots of wildlife visit our garden, and I often sit and watch them, especially the squirrels, Robbie. I also have two dogs who have changed our lives for the better since we got them. They’ve brought so much love and new people into our lives. I can’t imagine life without animals.

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  22. You captured the delicate balance between parental guidance and allowing kids the freedom to make their own choices so beautifully. The wildlife photography from South Africa is simply stunning – that cheetah shot: WOW it’s really good. An incredible post, Robbie! ๐Ÿ˜Š

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    1. Mine too. Itโ€™s been nuts with work snd private issues. I sometimes wonder if the worlds was always like this. I donโ€™t think so. People didnโ€™t live as long and need as much care. There were less complexities facing young people too.

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      1. I agree, and when we were kids a million years ago, things seemed very complex, and they were, but nothing like they are today. There are compensations, though. We didn’t have microwaves, ATM machines, cell phones, or computers. We had to heat TV dinners in the oven, wait for the bank to open at 10:00 am to get cash, race to answer the phone on the kitchen wall or wait for another family to get off the phone so we could use the party line, and type on typewriters that weren’t even electric. Calculators were new and outlawed in schools. Lots of things that took us hours can now be done in seconds. So there are some advantages. ๐Ÿ™‚ xxxxx

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  27. So glad you posted to the prompt with Azul’s artwork. And I love the reflective poem you’ve written, inspired by this particular painting of Azul’s. His father told me the painting was supposed to be Azul with his mother. For me, the interesting thing is the positioning of the boy and his mother in the painting. Azult painted her, not standing, not above him….but kneeling so she could be at his level. She’s leaning in to him…a kiss perhaps? Whispering words? For me, there’s a love that is being painted here. A closeness.
    When I was pregnant in 1974 with our first chile, someone gave me the following words in a beautiful small frame: The best things we can give our children are roots and wings.” Our kids always say we did “too good of a job with the wings”! Yes, it’s the letting go….the sense of independence at the same time the sense of love and warmth that comes with nurturing. I like to think of it analagous to a scizzors….there’s small bolt that holds the two blades together and at the same time allows them to move away…
    Causes one to think that’s for sure.

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    1. Hi Lillian, thank you for this thoughtful comment. I saw that same perspective in the picture of the mother reaching out to her son on his level. I have always done this instinctively with children. I honestly didnโ€™t realize I did this until it was pointed out to me by one of the other Sunday School teachers. She said she thought it was why the children attached to me so much. An interesting idea. Thank you for the wonderful prompt.

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  28. The two poems are so opposites, and of course the second is my choice. The giraffe feeding at sunset, and the three giraffes doing the same thing, are my favorite photos!

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