Notes About The Poem

This poem, text only, is included in my latest Book/eBook ‘Clive’s Uni-Verse – A Cornishman’s take on life’.  ISBN13: 9781800743342 published by Olympia Publishers in Jan 2022.

Conform To the Norm

My Baby:
Don't be too quiet, yet don't be too shrill,
Don't be too restless, but neither too still,
Please grow up hardy, yet soft to the touch,
Not seeking too little, nor asking too much.

Years later …
My Child:
Don't be precocious, yet don't be too shy,
The middle-sized apple of you father’s eye,
Don't be too forthright, nor keep to yourself,
Don't be too daring; but care for your health.

Years later …
My Son:
Don't aim too high, nor get stuck in a hole,
Nor hang back if offered an uninspired role,
Please don't take the high road or even the low,
The main road is best ... not too fast or too slow.

Years later …
My Epitaph:
Here lies a man, who knew how to conform,
Who never left harbour, for fear of a storm,
Avoiding the hot and the cold for lukewarm,
In loving, but not too loving, memory,
Of your only son ... Norm.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2021

Poem

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Blake Avatar
September 24, 2021 at 11:06 PM
This poem is about a man and his son. In the poem, the father talks to his son as a baby, years later as a child and years later as an adult. The father is so risk-averse he has never fully embraced life, he died without ever having left harbour, and is similarly over protective of his only son ...
De Beaulieu Avatar
September 24, 2021 at 11:33 AM
Hello Clive Blake, a lovey tribute to both of your sons. Enjoy your day my friend.
De Beaulieu Avatar
September 25, 2021 at 10:46 AM
Hello Clive, your welcome my friend. Yes I read this as a tribute. Now I see it the way you created this poem. This is a wonderful poem of a father talking to his son. I sense a close relationship between them. [Your friend Darlene|
Blake Avatar
September 24, 2021 at 11:28 PM
Hi Darlene, my friend,, Thanks for your comment. Many people read this poem as a tribute to sons, which I am quite happy with, but my intended message is of a father talking at different stages of his only son's life. The father being so risk-averse that he has never fully lived and now passing on his over cautious idea of life to his son ~ Clive :)
Rodrigues Avatar
September 24, 2021 at 10:05 AM
A wonderful tribute to sons!
Blake Avatar
September 24, 2021 at 11:25 PM
Hi Kin, Thanks for your lovely comment. Many people read this poem as a tribute to sons, which I am quite happy with, but my intended message is of a father talking at different stages of his only son's life. The father being so risk-averse that he has never fully lived and now passing on his over cautious idea of life to his son ~ Clive :)
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