Richard Tipping | + Follow Poet |
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New Boy Matures

Eleven years later and the young boy from the corner,
kept up with his scouting and a leader he’d become,
Two people were so proud of every one of his achievements,
The leader who first met him, And of course his doting mum.
And at his graduation, those who had helped to shape him,
Sat in pride of place to see him receive his degree,
Though he practised law now he was still a shy young person,
Underneath bravado, and the person he could be.
The first scout session after he got his qualification,
A girl sat in the corner, he hadn’t seen before,
From his recollection, he recalled the kindness,
He went to sit beside her, on a beanbag on the floor.
He said she was welcome and scouting could bring pleasure,
But know it isn’t easy when you feel you don’t belong,
then to her recited how he joined scouts in the first place,
And how with much encouragement, He’d become really strong.
Then in just the next year, he did travel as a leader,
Once again it was time for another jamboree,
He helped his group with fundraising and planning for the travel,
Encouraging young people to be the best they could be.
They ventured overseas and everything went very smoothly,
A lifetime’s opportunity for every single scout,
They met so many people, as they tidied up At lights out,
From adjacent fields, he heard a young girl start to shout.
“Hello Billy” she said as he looked around the campus,
Wondered whose the voice was he was hearing in the dark,
It was the young girl he’d seen after he had graduated,
Shouting to him, smiling, From the far side of the park.
She told him she had looked for him to come and say a thank you,
Encouraging her when she went to the scouts when he was there,
She said it took a while before she really made her mind up,
But words he’d said had meant, Of scouts she was aware.
She’d joined a different group, but his words remained beside her,
Remembering how he’d been chosen, for a jamboree,
She told him “ I remembered and I wanted to do something,
Perhaps it was your story that then inspired me”.
And as he thought about the similarities between them,
Once more his memory from past times came into his mind,
He thought about his mum and the original scout leader,
Who on that night so long ago, had really been so kind.
They waved goodbye to the girl who had come to say her thank you,
And when his group of charges had all drifted off to bed,
He phoned his mum and told her what had happened, very proudly,
He said” I’m a real leader now and not just in my head”.

Copyright © Richard Tipping | Year Posted 2020

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