10 Because everything I thought was so ain't so,
11 For some reason.
CHAPTER 51 But the way I remember it.
2 There used to be a dream called America,
3 Where nothing and nobody was ever equal,
4 Except under the law,
5 Which wasn't perfect either,
6 But it gave everyone more of a chance than anyone else ever had,
7 If you wanted to take that chance,
8 And work hard to make something of it,
9 And maybe some people would help you,
10 And maybe they wouldn't,
11 But if you kept on trying,
12 And kept your self-respect,
13 Maybe enough people would come to respect you in time to make it worth your while,
14 And if they didn't ever respect you,
15 Maybe they'd respect your sons,
16 Or even your daughters,
17 Because girls are people too,
18 Or at least I've always thought so,
19 And maybe even better than men when you come right down to it,
20 aBecause even if they're silly and annoying sometimes,
21 They're kind and warm and loving,
22 And a lot of them are a lot smarter than most men I know,
23 Although I'm probably wrong,
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24 Which I am about most things,
25 I guess.
CHAPTER 61 Anyway,
2 I sometimes wish I'd had daughters instead of sons,
3 Because it always seemed like daughters loved their fathers,
4 In the old days, anyhow,
5 bAnd I don't think my sons ever really loved me,
6 Or at least not very much,
7 Because they never really seemed to care what I thought,
8 About anything,
9 Even though I was doing the best I could,
10 Most of the time.
CHAPTER 71 I'm not saying I never made any mistakes,
2 Because I know I did,
3 And there were times when I didn't pay enough attention,
4 cAnd didn't jerk them up short when they needed it,
5 Because I thought they'd grow out of it or something,
6 Which they never did,
7 And I know for a fact,
8 Or at least I think I do,
9 dThat I gave them too much freedom,
10 Which isn't quite the same thing as liberty,
11 As my father used to say,
12 But he was probably wrong too,
13 Because he taught me a lot of things,
14 Things that just ain't so,
15 I guess.
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