GRANTING GRACE TO THE YOUNG

I ignore the new car
closing in on my old Chevy
until it passes me on a curve
and I see the driver is young,
likely still in high school.
He raises his middle finger
without much passion—  
as if it’s hardly worth the effort—
and I am only briefly angry
for I have grandsons
who do stupid things
as I once did, too.

I’d like to warn him, in fact,
that these days one never knows
who might be armed and unhinged—
it’s common to be both
in modern-day America—  
and I smile to remember
I would have followed him once
and scared him half to death
in his parents’ driveway.

I know I published an earlier version of this poem here but it’s been rewritten and I think it’s fun. Be careful, young man; some of us old geezers are still dangerous.

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My book, SLOW RIVERS, can be ordered through your local bookstore or online via bookshop.org. (ISBN 979-8-218-43822-7).

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Joseph Neely, all rights to original material reserved in full.