PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

Stuart Douglas Staub

I remember what it felt like
When the balance seemed quite right
I'd sleep right through the morning
Whether nightmare or delight

Always I'll remember
What it was like back then
To wonder what another life
Must have, could have been

Kaleidescopes of panic
Cooling gels of bliss
There's nothing that a parent can
Responsibly dismiss

For those of you who do it
For those of you who don't
For those who twitch in abject fear
And say "I can't, I WON'T!"

There's no job more like Heaven
There's no task so much like Hell
Than this constant toil of leadership
That cracks the hardest shell

If you can pull it off I say
You've made it to the top
If you can simultaneously
Do homework, soothe, and mop

Then all the other grueling tasks
Drift away to dust
When one can say without delay
"I don't wanna... but I must."

And what is our return for this?
A cruddy "World's Best" mug?
A snotty kiss at 6AM
A lice-infested hug?

A call from Mrs. AppleBite
"Your kid ate paste again"
"I told him not to play with that"
...Blame his Uncle Ben

A drawing made from half-chewed wax
In 60 "brilliant colors"
Though a shining work of art
I'd settle for much duller

So all in all the end is this
We'll never get it right
Washing hands and clothes by day
Cleaning puke all night

And even the returns we get
Are few and far between
For it is hard to love someone
Who seems so stern and mean

But every now and then, no lie
You see the efforts showing
When they take on a task themselves
You'll spend the whole day glowing

And though "thank you" may never pass
Their little, germ-smeared lips
A smile as lessons finally learned
Flow from their fingertips

Is all it takes to finally
Make you uncloud your worth
And gratify your endless task
On this uncertain Earth

And when they walk out of your door
In however many years
That all the anger, blood, and sweat,
Anguish, pain, and tears

Was for their love, better or worse
And still that love will grow
As they become the future
For through that door they go

As I sit here wondering
Was the life I taught them useful?
Did I do my best to make them kind
Just, and brave, and truthful?

Were all the years I spent in vain?
Do they thank me in their prayers?
Do they wonder if I did right?
Do they wonder if I cared?

But, one day, they'll bring a gift
A beast they made one night
He'll be all slobber, poop and snot
A grandma's lap delight

Maybe then I'll see the truth
That Moms and Dads forever
Never may quite get it right
This parenting endeavor

But neither did our folks, or theirs
It's not a perfect science
To teach good manners, honesty
Truth, and self-reliance

All you need is what you know
And most of us know best
How to live life to its most
How to grasp this quest

So pass it on, pass it on
Let them know the same
That no matter who's the winner here
It's still the same old game

I've never seen a bigger smile
Than the one on grandpa's face
Except maybe the grandkid's smile
Full of love and grace

If you can make it, I'll wager
You'll grow old quite fast
For youth does not hang 'round too long
With kids, it just won't last

For in the end we teach ourselves
For God has NEVER said
"ADAM AND EVE YOU'RE UP TOO LATE!"
"NOW BOTH OF YOU--TO BED!"