Village Idiot Publishing (C) 2000 Diary of a Spirit
PARENTS DO KNOW IT ALL
It was a dreadful time in my youth.
The time when I had, to prove what I was meant to do.
It was the fourth grade, time for my first dance,
But mother and father, would be the ones, to choose my date.
It wasn't that I minded it, I was too young to understand,
And too shy to ask a girl, for a date.
Though it had to be a conspiracy, and I knew it for sure;
Because she was the ugliest girl in the whole school.
She came from the right breeding,
And the proper beliefs;
And the cobbler she made, was unique.
It was part of the ritual, to show me she cared,
And that she was skilled, in the culinary delights.
For the way to a man's heart, was through his stomach,
And that would be established, from the start.
But there was more to this than just a simple dance.
It was the betrothing of a couple,
And the end of my life.
How could my parents do this, and choose an ugly girl,
Though she seemed quite sweet, and sociable,
If I could only close, my eyes.
They say parents know things, that kids can't understand,
But I wasn't going to let that stop me,
From trying to change their minds.
But my argument was insufficient, and wouldn't make the grade.
After all this wasn't about beauty, it was about a judgement call.
If it wasn't for my total embarrassment,
And the mockery I received at school,
It might have turned out different,
And I would have married her after all.
But the sixties brought division,
And tradition was deemed out of touch.
And though my choice was eventually honored,
I'd have to say, it wasn't very smart.
For the war sent me off for along time,
And I returned to see the shock of my life.
She had grown and became a woman,
And a fox that would stop a crowd.
But her heart was already taken,
By someone who avoided the war;
And all the thoughts, of how I made out to not like her,
Suddenly made me feel like a fool.
They say that parents are smarter,
Than kids that think they know it all,
And I have to admit I was foolish,
because mine really did, know it all.