(no subject)

[pomes]

The bravery of children
astounds me
They take off their sandals and walk
Over the rocks and into the sea and
Jump back from each breaking wave and then walk deeper
They stand
Up in court or sit down for a video camera
And say the thing they've promised never to tell and
Then they say it again and again to other
Strangers
And they go back to school the day after detention
Or the day before the exam
And they keep going
Little children
Big children
Picking up spiders and
Telling the teacher it was them who was talking and
Refusing to shoplift and
Getting a pal to hospital to have their stomach pumped and
Wearing second-hand wrong clothes to the school disco
And pretending they're not homeless for a year and
They never stop