Never Mind

Entry #1 from the Dictionary of Teenage Variations on the English Language

Entry #1 from the Dictionary of Teenage Variations on the English Language,
And an Example in Context
Never Mind— [nev-er `mind]
1. [When preceded by a pause] Usually taken
To mean that what your teenager would have said
Would have been potentially dangerous
To parent-child relations—
a. Because you wouldn’t understand what they
Were really trying to get across and/or
b. They do not want you to get mad and prefer
To let you forget about it,
While they simmer in silence.

Just as you,
In your ever-diligent mother-ness
Turned to me, speaking
“You know I love you,
Don’t you?”
There is an automatic answer, here
A requirement
For peace of mind,
And of house.
“Yes.”
And there is a pause, here, too
As I wonder how you might take
Whatever I am thinking
“But…
(I assume that you love me.
You have to love me.
But I know that you do not
Understand me.
And that,
Is so much more important.)
…never mind.”

This would be far too dangerous
To mother-daughter relations
To speak out-loud

I, careful in my want
To satisfy you,
Take only safe roads, now.