The Child

When I was just a child
I had no worry or concern,
nor had I an inkling
of the things that I would learn.

It isn't mathematics
or history of which I speak,
nor any other subject
students normally seek,

but all the worldly lessons
which cause me to bear shame,
like prejudice and bigotry,
and others I won't name.

Dishonesty, duplicity,
those too, I have known.
I had them not as a child,
but acquired them as I'd grown.

I hate the way I feel
when I act this way.
I ask forgiveness for my sins
for which I'll someday pay.

Now, I look back on my life
at things said and done by me
and wish I could return again
to the child I used to be.

Paul Allen Rice