Two Boys With Different Mothers
Two boys pushed me down hard into a mud puddle when I was eight
This was after Sunday School, I was dressed in pristine clothes.
The sister of Michael told her mother what he had done.
The other child was named Danny, I did not know him well.
After Sunday dinner, the doorbell rang.
Michael was standing there with his mother.
She was pinching his ear hard. He had to apologize.
We were both embarrassed.
I heard Michael’s mother tell my mother that she had phoned Danny’s mother.
Danny’s mother said “My son wouldn’t have done that!”
Danny’s mother made excuses for Danny all of his life.
He would not lie, he would not steal, he would not beat up people.
When Danny was eighteen, his mother could not longer help him.
He was incarcerated for the rest of his life for beating a man to death.
Michael became a Lieutenant Colonel in the Marines.
Copyright © Caren Krutsinger | Year Posted 2022
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