Home » Poems » Thanks Returns » Fair Weather Parents

Fair Weather Parents

“It’s all in a day’s work
Tryin’ hard to defend
The time that I spend alone.”
~ Chaka Khan, “What ‘Cha Gonna Do For Me” from the album UNSUPPORTED CODE What ‘Cha Gonna Do For Me UNSUPPORTED CODE (1981)

We drop him off at daycare
And pick him up at night,
Then television programs air –
He watches them till night.
We’re busy with our business
And friendly with our friends;
He cries too much – for these fits
That’s why they make playpens.
At night when we’re all tired
We stick him in his room,
In mornings he’s attired
To hit the road – zoom zoom!
We look at him and smile,
A cute and lovely sight –
No worries all the while
Since everything’s all right.

He never sucked from boobies,
The milk had too much fat;
Besides, the office cubies
Just weren’t the place for that.
Breasts are a bad suggestion,
He did just fine on grain;
If it caused indigestion
The experts would explain,
So baby food would clearly
Have left them out. He knows
We care for him as dearly
As any one of those
Few moms who tried breastfeeding –
Milk isn’t fancy wine –
He got what he was needing
And everything’s just fine.

The trouble’s with the teachers
These kids cut up so much
He sits beneath the bleachers
To hide from jerks and such.
They shoved him down a stairway
And left him in a cast,
Another school will someday
Make all of it the past.
He’s had his tonsils pulled out
And his appendix too,
His doctors are good, no doubt:
They charge enough for two.
Some scars and scrapes don’t matter
Each day we rise and shine
Won’t bring a silver platter
But everything’s just fine.

We wouldn’t treat him as a friend.
The reason’s plain to see.
We’ve got to train him to contend
All independently.
The sooner he learns what’s allowed
And lets all else just be
The sooner that he’ll make us proud
In this society.
We also wouldn’t spare the rod
If it would be the way
To make his soul all well with God
And teach him to obey.
The weather’s not been anything
But pretty, fair, and bright.
There’s nothing worth remembering
But just what’s gone all right.

We hardly see him these days,
He’s got his own career
Though he knows he could always
Stop by here every year.
We’d like to meet his daughter
Before she’ll be all grown;
At least for now we’ve bought her
Some books to call her own.
We could’ve gone ourselves there –
The flight’s long, we expect –
But we’ll sit home and won’t care
Till he shows more respect.
We sure raised him to be good,
To stand up straight and fight
On his own feet, and that should
Make everything all right.

Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.