Spare the Rod Spoil the Child

Temptation's all around
You're itching to get in it
You dare not though
Consequences being you'll get it.
You spare the rod
You spoil the child
The Bible teaches this
A lack of and they may grow up buck wild.
From teachers to neighbors
Or anyone who was a grownup
They all had unspoken permission to unleash
Whenever and wherever you slipped up.
But there were always a few
Who didn't require as much
Just the threat of a butt-whipping
Really kept those few in touch.
And as for all the rest
I'm not saying their heads were hard
They'd slip up once in a while
Only to be confined to the yard.
And if penalized to confinement and a whipping
They really had screwed up bad
But once the grownups were through with them
They'd wished they never had.
Which is why most kids today
Act the way that they do.
The law has gotten involved
And the law don't allow you to punish the way they used to.
But take this advice from me
And your kids will turn out just fine.
Don't let anyone tell you that you can't
When it comes to whipping your kids' behinds.
'Cause when we were growing up
Of whippings we had our share.
Seemingly every move we made
Someone from the village was right there.
'Cause it takes an entire village to raise a child
But today the village walls have been knocked down.
Take a good look at the current situation
The main wall, daddy, is not around.
And as for the rest of the village
They are into their own thing.
They dare not say anything to many kids
Or a whipping they may end up taking.
Then the establishment wonders why
There's such an increase in teen violence
Spare the rod, spoil the child
It's not at all rocket science.

4-4-06

KCASR

Making Time

Growing up quite a few years ago
In a seemingly out-of-the-way land
Forging a permanent bond
That even to this day still stands.
Two cute little faces
Competitive to the bone
From deep within none fiercer
Best bet was to leave them alone.
It was basically picking a poison
No matter what sport you chose.
The younger one would spit in your eye
When the older one would break your nose.
Not a whole lot of glamour
From those closest to them did these two receive
But etching vivid memories in opponents' and fans' minds
Did these two really achieve.
Your best bet was to hope
That one of them was ill
'Cause if both were playing
Theirs was the team's will.
Never giving up at all
And never saying die most definitely
They'd fight and scratch tooth and nail
Stopping only for the whistle of the referee.
And as hard and as well
As these two little gladiators fought
Their personal fan club was never around
And looking back, that's a traumatic lesson life taught.
But now that these two pugilists
Have offspring of their own
A stronger will won't let their brood experience times such as those
Sheer will won't let them go through those battles alone.
Now of this determination
They uttered not a spoken word
But listen to the talk of their father's absence
To think their kids will get the same is absolutely absurd.
Now trouble's abrewing behind the scenes
So watch out future stars of the world.
The Alston boys are making time to guide their kids
So it will be quite intrigueing to watch their futures unfurl.

KCASR
10-23-03