Jack Pelham

He is wise
Who understands
That he swims at his own risk
Even when there’s a lifeguard—

When you wake up
And see, finally
That you have hurt us,

Slogging away
Through the quagmire—

There is reading for comprehension
And there is reading because you were reading.

And then there’s re-reading—
Because you had been
Reading for comprehension,
But discovered somewhere along the line
That you had slipped into
Reading because you were reading.

Surely caring
About about important things
Is among the most underrated
Of the virtues.

It is possible to sully
Even the most wonderful idea
With your pride in
Being the one who had it, or
Being the one who’s presenting it.

What vanity it is
To bear either conceit
Or shame
Over the deeds
Of one’s ancestors,
As if we had done those deeds ourselves.

James wrote this in 2016, at 13 years old—for Father’s Day, I suppose. I had forgotten about it until it came up in my FB memories. He comments on some things I had done quite on purpose. Glad it worked out so well!

Perhaps no one can appreciate
As much as you do
The great effort you have expended
In providing a non-answer
To the question.

It’s getting so old
That it’s almost not funny anymore—
That error by which we take Him literally
When He was speaking figuratively,
Or vice versa—