Nestled beneath the flamboyant and plush feathers of your mellow mother,
O fledgling1, hear the clamour of those ambivalent2 realms which hover;
‘Tis alike that astringent3 savour of your first pomegranate seed,
A medley of fructuous trees in a blossoming orchard from your phantasmal mead4,
along with blood-flecked clouds of the ghastly reality guaranteed.
Teeter not on the wavering fringes of metaxy5,
O cherub6, prevention is the aversion of such calamity!
Listen! The breeze carries chieftain’s7 assuage8 to your mother’s flustered twitters;
How sunbeams vivify your iridescent purple armour9 - cloaking your first flight jitters.
Quell the quivers in the flutters and follow the brightest10 pole star,
“Mistake me not for the gleaming gold11 merging with the blue-hued horizon afar”,
Whistles Aeolus12, the caution of your mother against such mirage,
Chant these as your prayer to preserve your plumage13!
O cherub, prevention is the sustenance of health and equanimity14!
Under an umbrousU15 tree, your teacher first ignited the eternal flame of intellect16,
“Life is a perilous quest for hidden treasures17 in a labyrinthine garden of introspect18;
Tame your tempestuous mind19 into a serene star sheathed in bright mist –
Thorny paths lead to feasting florets, placid rivulets of reprieving nectar with magical cryst20,
And, plain ones to carnivorous verdure, covetous serpents, and galling fire.21”
Gear up with the sharpest insight, shield yourself with resistance.22 Heed to your sire!
O cherub, prevention is the assertion of agency23!
Post winter’s misty drizzle, apprehensive kernels of forage24 burgeon in your bosom,
Pilgrimage to the realm of ambrosia25 luxuriant in passion petals and ripe fruits of plum.
On your guard! The vulture26 holds your chums spellbound to the wind-swept mountaintop,
Where there is a filbert tree yielding green pistachio, camouflaging his eyrie in the backdrop.
Use the mirrored necklet imparted by the chieftain27 to reflect its blackish soul to your peers28,
Quick! Warble the hymn of danger29 and fly away along with your dears!
O cherub, prevention is the protection of your buddies and the affinity!
From the infernal chasm of your psyche, a begrimed phantom30 emanates31 to loom over your nest;
Whirling around you, it intertwists pictures of your falls off the perch32 with zest -
Spectres of precedent blunders, inadequacy and regress pummel33 you ruthlessly to the floor,
Bruises of your heart fester into suppurative wounds34, bloodstaining your core.
At once, wavy and radiant spirits35 uplift you, washing your woes away like seashells into the sea.
As your mother and chieftain often contemplate, “Family is identical to coral reefs, absence of one fringing reef36 ensues ruinous wave crests undersea.37”
O cherub, prevention culminates in a convivial and harmonious family and society!
1 A young bird that has just fledged.
2 A loud and confused noise, especially that of people shouting.
3 Sweet and lightly acidic or bitter.
4 Metaphor of imagination.
5 Middle ground. A dilemma often experienced by youngsters: whether to take drugs or not.
6 A beautiful or innocent-looking child.
7 Knowledgeable head of the bird tribe, symbolising a trained nurse or social worker visiting new mothers to provide them with parenting skills.
8 Words which make (an unpleasant feeling) less intense.
9 Representing the plumage/body.
10 Symbolical of the mother and her guided instructions.
11 Representing the sun.
12 Divine keeper or God of the winds.
13 Representing human body.
14 A state of psychological stability and composure which is undisturbed by experience of or exposure to emotions and pain.
15 Shady.
16 Symbolical of the first lesson on substance use prevention. Trained teachers engage children in interactive activities to give them the opportunity to learn and practise a range of personal and social skills.
17 Symbolical of instances of happiness, success, and prosperity.
18 Experiences and responses provide the youths with the opportunity to evaluate themselves.
19 The desire, impulse or temptation to do something, especially something wrong or unwise, such as substance use.
20 Allegory of peaceful life.
21 Allegory of being engaged in the pursuit of pleasure; sensually self-indulgent.
22 Endorsement of the model temperament they should have to deal with substances.
23 It is only through their choices that they can harness the power of sound decision-making.
24 Represent the anxiety of the discharge of social skills.
25 Metaphor of outside world.
26 Simile of beguiling urge.
27 Symbolical of the knowledge from Classroom environment improvement programmes which strengthen the classroom management abilities of teachers, and support children to become better students, whilst reducing early aggressive and disruptive behaviour.
28 Substance use prevention is about sharing the information acquired with friends.
29 Represents the art of persuasion.
30 Represents psychological vulnerabilities.
31 Some personality traits such as sensation-seeking, impulsivity, anxiety sensitivity or hopelessness, are associated with increased risk of substance abuse. These indicated prevention programmes help adolescents that are particularly at risk to deal constructively with emotions arising from their personalities.
32 Represents traumatic or bad memories.
33 To strike repeatedly.
34 Allegory of deteriorating mental health.
35 Representative of the natural mentoring in the relationships and interactions between young adults and non-related adults such as teachers, coaches and community leaders which has been found to be linked to reduced rates for substance abuse.
36 Simile of coral reef but has a metaphorical value of a united family.
37 Represent familial disputes and disharmony.