The Path of a Boy

A Dedication to my Dad and Mum who blessed me with their trust and gave me so much space.

They used to tell me,

When I was a Lad,

That sometimes I was good,

But often I was bad.

With a heart for adventure

And a deeply curious mind,

Much trouble and Mischief,

Were so very easy to find.

The thing about boys,

They have to find things out,

To discover what really works,

And to remove all their doubt.

With tomahawk in hand,

And my pocketknife too,

I’d head for the bush,

To find something to do.

Maybe chop down a tree,

Or dig a big hole,

I was building my skills,

Whilst I was freeing my soul.

We would set off at dawn,

And be home just before dark,

On a quest of discovery,

We were leaving our mark.

We bult cabins from logs

Beyond the fringe of the town,

Always upbeat and energised,

And never feeling down.

We made our mistakes

And we flirted with fate,

But nothing was so feared,

As arriving home late.

We’d trudge on for miles,

Navigating tough terrain,

We knew what we were doing,

In sun, wind and rain.

All we needed was a mission

And our trusted best mate,

Heading unsupervised to the horizon,

And we were aged only eight.

If our Mum’s only knew

Of the mischief we created,

They’d probably have a seizure,

And would need to be sedated.

But that was the thing,

About young country lads,

The only thing we feared,

Was the wrath of our Dads.

But I look back now,

At the line held by my Ol’ Man,

That fear was my boundary,

A safe harness on my plan.

See, boys need their freedom,

To find out who they are,

Discovering their own limits,

Whilst exploring fields afar.

But we lock them down at school,

And box them in at home.

Restricting all their adventure,

To some online Thunderdome.

In this mad modern world

Where our boys cannot run free,

We are giving them diabetes,

To save the skin on their knee.

Mum and Dad you must listen,

The danger may be all in your head,

Your son needs to explore and roam,

You must feel through your dread.

But you can be involved,

As you listen to his plan,

Creating agreements that must be kept,

It’s how you build a man.

You can nurture his maturing,

As he grows into the man he’ll be,

By releasing your fearful shackles,

And setting his spirit free.

Mistakes he is sure to make,

That’s as true as the sun will rise,

But these are the powerful life lessons,

That with him you can analyze.

He will learn from his screw-ups,

And the wins he has in the wild,

And with you as his trusted mentor,

He will evolve from being a child.

Adulthood will eventually come,

And he will step up to do his part,

His adventure packed childhood,

Will see less restlessness in his heart.

So take your lads to the bush,

And teach them how to cut wood,

And how to cook over a campfire,

It will do them so much good.

Most little boys are adventurers,

As testosterone fuels their yearning,

They’ll explore, build, thrive and grow,

Such a rich vein of nature’s learning.

See you cannot fully love your boys,

By holding them too close and tight,

You have to give them stability and trust,

So, their hopes and dreams may take flight.