Teach the Children Paradox

Teach the children paradox

Teach the children paradox,
ubiquitous, and equinox.
Teach them how to shadow box
and sing the praises of the dark
and deadly ways of memory and love.

Teach them also how to snarl
how to drive a lover wild
when to laugh when to talk
when to drive a lover off
how to leap from straddled fences
how to tuck and roll and stop.

Show the children how to sketch
a monkey’s life, a monkey’s laugh
how to get one off one’s back.
Show them how to face the light
how to tell the truth from lies
and how to live through sorrow.

Teach your children how to swim
how to pull a swimmer in.
Show them what you do in town,
and how to rise above the crowd,
introduce them to your friends
and leave them talking.

Let them hear you call them
Buttercup, or Noodletoes, or Pumpkin,
let them see you hiss, give a kiss,
hear you weep, and watch you fix
a precious thing you’ve broken.

Rick Mobbs 2008