Daddy Wisdom

 

When I say jump, you must ask how high, but

girls should be seen and not heard. Smile big, but

think twice before you speak. You may have your

own views as long as they’re mine. Do as I

say, but not as I do, and don’t speak at

all unless you’re spoken to. When life hands

out lemons, it’s a bitter pill. Drink deep,

and take care to eat all you are given.

Whoever told you that life is fair is

a fool soon left with no dough. Measure with

care, and always cut once before they cut

you. It’s better to kill than to bow your

head low. Free milk makes the cow as ugly

as sin, and blood won’t come out in the wash.

Mark which fills first when you want in one hand

and excrete in the other. Keep count of

your eggs, but don’t call them hens. Rise with the

crow of the cock. A penny you save is

one less you must earn, but it’s best to let

men bear the load. Most of all, dear, it is

fair to say, that the darkness that happens

today is sure to fly south with the dawn.

 

Devon Tunnell is a mother of four and an English major at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas. In her limited free time, she enjoys knitting, drawing, and rearranging her furniture.  This is the first poem she has published as an adult.