TOO YOUNG TO UNDERSTAND © 1975 First Published In Okike Journals 17, 1981
It was in the prime of youth
When rebellion from parental petting ruled-
The time the brain is put to initial test
Having been pampered ten years and three-
A time when everything heard must be tried.
I heard them say it morn and night,
“Life is nothing without a sip of it.
Its sweetness cannot be described
Because it’s sweeter than breeze of night
Or the early morning sun at the beach.”
The veiled hunger lingered in me,
Tormenting my unwilling resistance,
Filling me with urge to try it out.
So aroused, I set out for the journey
To have a taste of that apple’s juice.
Its sight was so frightening to me.
I saw it frown at me like the Medusa
Which they said , turned people into stones.
I took to my heels fast, like a frightened rat.
But now as a MAN, I flash back and SMILE.