The Parents Creed
by Deb Williams
Your children are not
your children, they are the sons and daughters of a
man you made a couple of drunken mistakes with.
They slipped out of you yet that’s not your fault.
Where else were you going to put them once they got
that big? And though they are with you, you don’t
need to drive them anywhere if they are really
bugging you.
You may give them your love but they will repel you.
For they have their own thoughts and will share them
with you because “what do you know? You’re so old!”
You may house their bodies yet buy them
antiperspirant for even when you beg them they will
not bathe until tomorrow, and you can smell them,
even in your dreams.
You may strive to dress like them but do not, for you
look like an imbecile in the shorty shorts and the
pop-top. For you are wearing them backwards and look
like the dogs dinner warmed over twice,
yesterday.
