BABE

LISTEN AS YOU READ : https://soundcloud.com/ilana-rhymes/babe

Like their parents before

The newlyweds

Apprehend the light 

Their first baby sheds.

They know it will be hard, 

They think they have no choice: 

Betting on such a card

Will magnify their voice.

The sun shines in the sky,

A new morning is born.

One farmer plants the rye, 

The other plants the corn.

Conditions will be set 

To teach the apprentice.

Compromises are met:

A spanking and a kiss.

Dear Mother says one thing, 

Father says another. 

It’s all quite confusing; 

But problems Babe won’t stir. 

So Babe listens and learns, 

In bed tosses and turns,  

Patiently waiting for

What for Babe is in store.

—

Dad always runs around,

Like his keys can’t be found.

He never breaks to nap;

Begins another lap.

On the other hand, Mom

Acts like a Peeping Tom;

Sits back, pries and judges,

While sipping a Gin Fizz. 

“Eat your greens,” she will say, 

“Or the price you will pay.”

Dad adds “Go read a book,

At screens you should not look.”

“Oh and pick up your socks!”

“Don’t stay in, go for walks!”

“Tonight turn in early.”

“Drink water, not coffee.”

They teach Babe how to speak.

A low tone he should keep.

Language should be polite,

“Use words, not fists. Don’t fight.”

—

Meanwhile Pa eats chips,

Fatter grow Mommy’s hips.

Compulsively she shops, 

For bags and shoes and tops. 

And Daddy often groans,

Despite the tone he prones. 

And Ma watches T.V.

Until her eyes can’t see. 

—

As Babe becomes a teen,

Babe starts to find obscene 

All the double standards, 

And seeks to find new herds.

Other thought processes

And different life keys

Become Babe’s main interest; 

Knowledge is now Babe’s quest. 

Do this, do that, obey,

Listen to what I say, 

If you want to survive;

You want to stay alive. 

“It’s all nonsensical.

Look at my role model:

A couple of despots; 

Dictators with no thoughts;

Authoritarian folks,

Whose ruling is a hoax;

A farce they don’t esteem;

An incoherent team.”

—

More and more teen Babe grows,

Until young adulthood. 

Now Babe no longer knows

What is bad and what’s good.

—

Here comes the tragedy

Thickly wrapped in false hope. 

Smart shrinks will charge a fee

To help lost Babe to cope.

—

The laws have been given, 

Now be the best version 

Of yourself, so you can 

Bask in the sun and tan;

So you don’t burn your wings; 

Accumulate more things.

So you can see though blind. 

From core you become rind. 

Like your parents before,

You’re on a quest for more.

Pretend you’ve known the truth,

Since your very first tooth. 

But you have no control 

On space/time as a whole. 

So play and dance and work, 

While pain and sorrow lurk; 

While frustration enchants

You with wishes and “can’ts”;

While sunrises dupe you

In creating anew. 

At the end of the day,

You won’t have the last say. 

When you turn off the light, 

Just try to sleep at night.