When Did You First Tie Your Own Laces? Poem by Paul Reed

When did you first learn to tie your own laces?
Were you eight or nine years old?
When did you first start to wear braces?
For the purpose your trousers to uphold;

What a struggle it used to be
Putting on your own vest
It used to take an eternity
And then you needed a rest;

Remember when you never washed your face
And it used to get covered in grime
Chocolate would be smeared all over the place
We used to have a great time;

Someone else would comb our hair
And take time to put in a neat parting
About tidy appearance we just didn't care
Our lives were only just starting;

When did we first learn to blow our nose?
Instead of letting it run and bubble
When did we first adopt a self-conscious pose?
Why do we bother to take the trouble?