When did I forget to tell you?
To remind you. To ensure it was etched

You remembered to cross safely, drive slowly
To have good friends, to eat lunch, to sleep

You remembered to love, to care and be kind
To give thanks, to work hard, to live your dreams
to have fun and to live life to the full.

A concert? So excited. 
Oh, What did I forget to tell you?
Keep your wallet, your phone safe. Enjoy yourself.
But oh, What did I forget to tell you? 
Broken, shattered …..An innocence gone

Hafsha D Shaikh

Note: This poem was composed a day after the atrocity in Manchester. 
The poem explores a mother’s grief. She recalls the advice to her child, and berates 
herself for the advice she did not give.

The advice she did not think she had to give, to say out loud. The inference is that she did not remind her child to look out for the
unseen and thinkable dangers.

The poem ends suddenly.