When a teenager
he had his demons
trouble in high school
a chronically troubled kid
always acting up
misbehaving his MO
always skipped classes
often kicked out of high school
a pariah in that academic setting
respected playing pool in a pool hall
with troubled friends, some delinquents
the camaraderie of working class rebels
never got in trouble with the law
didn’t want to be a caged pariah
hard knocks aplenty and aplenty
began to straighten him out
after an insubordination stint
30 days military correctional custody
days and nights of deep introspection
in faraway Zweibrucken, Germany
began to turn his turbulent life around
the better man gradually emerging
he walked upon firmer ground
eventually became liberated
the newer, better him – finally born.
Bob Boyd