Parenting Never Ends
Mother, give me
back my old room
I won't make a mess like I used to,
I won't play my records
loud at nights,
I'll keep it quiet
Mother, let me have my old bed back
and lay out clothes for me.
People give me work and money
They depend on me now,
if they only knew how thin the ice they walk on is.
If they only knew how thin the ice they walk on
is
Mother, please make
my decisions
like you once did,
this time I won't pester you about it,
I'll surrender
Mother, these streets
are too cold for me
I'm standing by your door
A plant under each arm,
let me move back in
Father, the last time you offered to teach me
all about the Baltic Sea, it was wasted on me.
Now I'm ready, throw me once again
the footballs you tried to throw and this time
I will catch and learn and know
Mother, if that's not enough
bring me all the way back to
my original address
to your womb.
I have trouble sleeping but I don't recall I had while in your womb.
