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The Art of the Assist

Parenting is a give and go, a no-look pass into the future…a rhythm of trust, timing, and release. A parent gives: love, lessons, sacrifices, the ball of possibility. The child goes: chasing dreams, carving paths, sometimes missing, sometimes scoring. It’s not about control, but connection, knowing when to pass and when to let them run. The future lives in that motion, in the belief that what you’ve given will return, not always immediately, but in the form of resilience, joy, and purpose. The give and go is legacy in motion. It’s the art of releasing control while staying connected, of investing in a future you may not fully see but deeply believe in a play that says: I see you, I trust you, now go.

A Poem



Give and Go

As a parent,

we all want to leave our children with something—

a legacy, a legend,

a fragment from our fascinating past

 that they use as a foundation

  to build a fast break of a fascinating future.

Like a bounce pass in transition,

we give before we go.

Give them something,

then watch them go—

cutting through life’s defense,

pivoting past our fears,

driving toward their dreams

bigger, faster, farther

than we could ever imagine.

We all grew with a dream,

a hope to be something amazing

a buzzer-beater, a highlight reel,

but sometimes that thing, 

      that dream

doesn’t play out how we drew it up,

doesn’t pan out to what we planned.

Still, we pass it on.

The wisdom in the wrist flick,

the patience in the pick 

      and roll,

the love in the give 

       and go.

Because parenting, like any game, 

isn’t just about the points we score, 

it’s about the assist,

the setup,

the moment we step back

and let them take the shot.


Boris “Bluz” Rogers, raised in the red clay of Dalzell, is a 3x Emmy Award Winner, Slam Poet National Champion, and a leading cultural voice at Catch12.

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