Sunday, March 11, 2012

Wisdom of a 14-Year-Old

Wisdom of a 14-year-old Student

Advice
Go home--it's past 5.
Your family is waiting.
Go home--it's past 5;
you've lost your filter.
Mrs. Woodall,
I can't believe you said that.

Advice Again
The phone rings. Still at school--
Yearbook deadline is past.
Make it up to your husband--
buy him his favorite candy bar
on your way home.
Make it up to your husband--
give him a foot massage.

Still More Advice
Here's what you can say,
Just tell her she can't expect other people
to work as hard as she does.

Action
I tell her,
suddenly realizing the message is for me, too.
She says she's going to bake that boy some cookies;
we comment on his wisdom and insight,
and the reality that our
expectations for others--
are too high.
We can't expect others
to work as hard as we do.

What will I do,
offer my Advice--
Seek wisdom from people of every age.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Added note: This wisdom is from a male. Several responders thought the 14-year-old was a female. I revised and edited a bit to try and show that.



5 comments:

  1. WOW - I hope my soon to be 14 year old is half as wise as this one! Just an amazing post!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like her thinking about your husband... "buy him his favorite candy bar." I think she has learned a thing or two in her 14 years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What is most powerful is that this is the wisdom of a male student.

      Delete
  3. This poem has an amazing strong voice. That repetition of "go home" says so much. I love that she is giving you a lesson, and am glad you shared.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for reading my writing and sharing your thoughts with me.