Don'T End Up Like Me Poem by Mitchell Hood

I remember back when I was a kid
All the silly things that I said and did
I would play in the treehouse in the no girls club
And bring my GI Joes with me into the tub
At least half of you did that, I'm willing to bet
But one thing I did that I'll never forget
Was ask my old man, 'Dad, what should I be? '
He said, 'Be whatever you like, just don't end up like me'
My dad was a good man, never once told a lie
And as tough as they came, never once did he cry
He worked two jobs all the time, both day shifts and night
Just making ends meet because money was tight
We didn't have many luxuries but I never knew
I just worried about kid stuff, I hadn't a clue
I had four brothers and sisters and all of us cried
We were all younger than twenty when our father died
A heart attack took him one day on the job
My mom re-married to his old best friend, Bob
Now, as I stand here, I see twenty years have passed
If you don't keep an eye on it, time goes too fast
I've long since been married and had kids of my own
They're ten and thirteen, already halfway grown
I worry every day about the parenting choices I've made
I don't always know what's best, I'll admit I'm afraid
Sometimes I wish that Dad was still here beside me
Too help me, to teach me, to love me and guide me
But I know that his memory lives on through me and my kids thereafter
Through hard work and dedication, through caring and laughter
So when I was young and he said, 'Don't end up like me'
Perhaps he was wrong, he's not the worst I could be