Robin Amy Bass

IT AIN’T NATURAL

I want it and I want it now;
Waiting takes too long.
Patience is virtue, yes.
To me that just feels wrong.

Ever since I was a kid,
I would hate to wait.
I would watch my friends in awe
While they’d contemplate.

Or they’d go and make a list,
Organize their thoughts;
As the list grew two feet long
I became distraught.

“Hedonist!” my father yelled.
“Some things have to grow.
When you’re older, you’ll find out
Why I tell you NO.

“You can’t have the cookie now.
You must wait till six.
If you do not crack the books
you’ll be in some fix.”

Though I knew that he was right,
I would not give in.
I would run and slam my door;
Turn my back on him.

Turn and pick up my guitar,
Play a Beatle tune.
‘If I have to wait it, out,
I’ll stay in my room…!’

Pull a record from its sleeve,
Switch the Phono on;
Dance with no-one to the beat.
For a while, I’m gone.

Soon enough the dance is done,
I sit on my bed.
‘If I don’t come down to sup,
Will they think me dead?’

“Dinner Time,” my mother yells,
“Come and have your meal.”
Hunger pangs take over now,
my resolve they steal.

I am hungry so I yell,
“I will be right down.”
Shrug my shoulders, ‘cause I know
they have won this round.

At the table Father smiles,
“Did you study well?”
I just nod, and hold my tongue:
‘You can go to hell.’

Soon enough my dad will ask,
“Tell me what you’ve learned?”
“Good things come to those who wait!
Prosperity is earned!”

So I play the waiting game, as I think
‘How can this be true?
When I’m older, I’ll make sure
I am not like you.’

Then, of course, it dawns on me,
‘What a twist of fate!
If I want to age myself,
I will have to wait.’

Author’s Note: For some reason, Col’s poem “Nature” set me off on a tangent. I think it was the line about the “trier does not fail.” It reminded me of my dad telling me to keep trying to understand Math or Science or just to keep trying.

I was tested as a child, and my parents were told that while I was extremely bright, I had no delayed gratification patterns. Translation? Spoiled rotten and stubborn! Also the reason, I hate to punctuate this stuff. Anyway… this poem is a reflection after reading the poem, “Nature” ©Copyright May 7, 2005 by Colin F. Jones