That First Naughty Word

Couldn’t say it as a kid because it was a sin - To say that small four letter word - what trouble I got in! A girl who was my babysitter taught the word to me. But then at eight, I learned that word’s effect on family. . . Mischievous and curious were cousin Steve and I; he too had learned that naughty word. It happened by and by (after we’d discussed it some and what the bad word meant) we voiced it ALOUD at a reunion and got sent to another room where we were scolded mightily. And for a long while, that foul word was uttered not by me! Well, you can say that word (these days) -in certain company: like with bikers and delinquents or my son, an ex-Marine! But I don’t like to say the word, except when very mad and in my car in traffic jams: (that’s when I say things bad!) Then nasty words I’ve read or heard from friends or on TV become the very words I hear come pouring out of me. It’s strange how that first naughty word I learned I must not say is now a word that (if I want to) I can say today! Nonetheless, I keep that word under lock and key. I’m glad that we can’t use it here to ruin our poetry! For the "You Can Say it Now" Contest by Paula Swanson