A Wise Mother Poem by Francis Duggan

A wise mother i know told her wayward son
If you cannot respect yourself you cannot respect anyone
Though that was decades ago and from here far away
Her words of wisdom i remember today
If you cannot respect self you cannot respect others that does seem so true
And in turn others will not respect you
In life we must give or we will not receive
On such a theory i am one who in does believe
We learn from life every day we do live
If you cannot love self then love you cannot give
To anyone else that's how it seems to be
At least anyhow that's how it seems to me
Like the words of the wise mother to her wayward son
If you cannot respect self you cannot respect anyone.