here’s to the parents
you know which of them I’m talking about
the ones who default to discipline if humiliation doesn’t work
who slap and hit well into teenage years
who throw the approval preserver
only if the child abandons his/her/their dreams
taking junior on long summer vacations out of town
all the better to ward off bad influences
but what if the child gets hurt by others saying no
and the parent or parents choose to end this by saying:
don’t you know I’d pay her to go out with you
if I could
here’s to the parents
who create children
that become nervous adults
and choose not to have children
of their own
