Partial Report From Childhood Poem by Hans Ostrom

Heights: clearly perilous,
possibly lethal.
Snow: tedious, never
ever as lovely as they would
they would have it. Adults:
loud and/or tired. Family:

a pecking order and a proliferation
of comparisons. School:
40% cruelty,50% boredom,
10% pleasure. Men: in charge,
even if no one knows why.

Women: perfumed, patient,
smarter than they act.
Girls: fascinating, mercurial.
Did I mention fascinating?

Books: reliable. The future:
an absentee landlord.