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Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/2292218-Now-I-know
by Norman
Rated: E · Poetry · Family · #2292218
I challenged all authority.
“Now don’t you dawdle, Josephine.
It’s not nice to be late.”
Oh, being late was just one thing
my Momma used to hate.

She always told me to be clean,
to wash my hands and face.
And if my clothes had dirty spots
it was a big disgrace.

It wasn’t always easy then.
My days were filled with strife.
But then I really can’t complain;
I lived a privileged life.

We always had enough to eat;
I never missed a meal.
In fact, we had most everything
and had no cause to steal.

When I look back so long ago,
to when I was a child,
I have to wonder how it came
that I grew up so wild.

I guess I just felt too constrained.
The structure was too tight.
And as I grew into a teen
my impulse was to fight.

Oh, I was just a teenage girl
but I had my ideas.
I thought that I knew everything,
as did most of my peers.

I challenged all authority,
much to my mom’s dismay.
I still remember fights we had,
right to this very day.

I have to shake my head today
when thinking of the past.
It’s only by the grace of God
my anger did not last.

And now I am a mom myself
with two teens of my own.
Oh, there are many days when I
just roll my eyes and groan.

But I learned something growing up
that’s really helping me.
Yes, teach them right and love them dear,
but patience is the key.

Lots and lots of patience.

© Copyright 2023 Norman (jimmynee at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
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Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/2292218-Now-I-know