Declarating of Independence
My daughter
at seventeen now
has declarated her independence
a messy necessary job
for any child
that desires not to live as a child
with childneeds and childfears and childlives
all the rest of his and hers
her way of declarating, this is my word for it,
_
I hope she has hers,
it is not what I would have choose
nor is it my place to choose her life
her independence
could a parent tell their child how to rebel
she goes to California from Philadelphia
by way of Kentucky
hopefully her plans are better
than her geography
oh she has declarated
I was not consulted or included
and, thus, am righteously in indignation
I will get over it
someday, after her declarating,
we can sit down and talk,
I can tell her how her rebellion was flawed
She can tell me how her problems are, at least partially,
due to my parenting
after all that,
venting all the steam and spleen and
having all the scenes
we can get to the real talkings
it seems we never had
in the times that some parents and children
had found to do this
before the declarating began
Bob Small 7-21-91
Note; This is my first use of the new scanner with OCR.
It’s my daughter’s birthday today. Happy Birthday!
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About bobsmall1
Bob Small has read at Bacchanal, Barnes and Noble, Borders,
The Booksource (Swarthmore), The Clark Park Festivals,Community College of Philadelphia
Highwire Gallery, The Mad Poets Annual Food Fest Reading,
The Middle East Restaurant, Nexus GalleryThe Painted Bride Arts Center,
The Philadelphia Ethical Society, Robin's Bookstore
The University of Pennsylvania and also in New York City,
Trenton, NJ, Washington, DC, and in many Delaware Valley Venues.
He is the author of numerous chapbooks, including
El Otro Lado (with Maralyn Lois Polak), On watching America Die,
Small Steps and Toes (with Lamont B. Steptoe), and The Unapoet.
This is his first Reading in over a year.
Bob Small was Founder and President of the
two decades old Poets and Prophets,
which presented Poetry Readings
in both Delaware County and Philadelphia.
Bob was the Chair of The Delaware County Green Party and was the
First Green Party Candidate in Delaware County (2005).
He was also a Green Party National Delegate, among other duties.
He is the Founder and Facilitator of
The Pennsylvania Ballot Access Coalition (PaBac),
which is a Coalition of both Independents and Third Parties.,
seeking to legislatively improve Pennsylvania's Ballot Access Laws. (Facebook)
Bob is also a founding member and
Facilitator of Democracy Unplugged, and Delco Debates,
which has presented Independent and Third Party Forums in Delaware County since 2004. Facebook)
He was formerly involved with Cinema Resistance, and Delco Pledge of Resistance.
Bob currently lives in Swarthmore with his wife
and their menagerie of animals.
He is currently focused on writing a Novel and organizing his Poetry, which he posts on his Blog (Bob Small1). He is retired from most of the above activities, except Delco Debates and Poets and Prophets, which he may return to.
robertthesmall 