The Riddle Of The Sphinx

****************** sonnet format *****************

How tenuous are filaments that bind
us to each other?  Strong as spider silk
yet just as frail.  Absorbed with mother's milk,
our want for hugs and blankets left behind,

discarded with our childhood.  By our teens
we forge down ancient paths, convinced they're new.
Like those before us, we'll try any means
for fitting in, and as they say, not do,

fit snugly.  Later, parents now, we try
to hold those precious tikes so close, so close,
and shush the little ones, don't cry, don't cry,
just like mom did, and watch them as they doze,

and think: how strong they are, the ties that bind.
So confident we won't be left behind.

****************** story format *****************
How tenuous are filaments that bind
us to each other?  Strong as spider silk
yet just as frail.

Absorbed with mother's milk,
our want for hugs and blankets left behind,
discarded with our childhood.

By our teens we forge down ancient paths, convinced they're new.
Like those before us, we'll try any means
for fitting in, and as they say, not do, fit snugly.

Later, parents now, we try to hold those precious tikes so close,
so close, and shush the little ones, don't cry, don't cry,
just like mom did, and watch them as they doze,
and think: how strong they are, the ties that bind.

So confident we won't be left behind.