COMING OF AGE By ... Steve Lucky

            COMING OF AGE
          By ... Steve Lucky

Innocence does not last forever.
Bonds to wickedness one has to sever.
For a person to mature,
Personal duty one has to endure.
This duty may not always be clear
From the things a child can see and hear.
Some dangers have to be faced alone
That would chill the bravest adult to the bone.
Adulthood can not be slowed down or rushed.
It is doubtful such a thing can be hushed.
When the time is right one will engage
In a ritual known as the coming of age.
Girls become women and boys become men.
No one can tell exactly when.
It will happen when the time is right,
At any time of day or night.
For each person, it is unique.
Whether or is strong or weak
Maturity will still arrive.
It is something one has to survive.
Since the coming of age has no set rate,
It never arrives too soon or late.
Many nations have ceremonies for this event.
Alone in the darkness, they will have to be content
With knowing despite all their childish faults,
They can see eye to eye with other adults.

Copyright 2001, Steve Lucky