Little Doubts

It can take at least five years, sometimes even Twenty, to change those youthful doubts and fears Into positive identity. In the meantime, he may be stalled at a Parlor halfway stage, his parents constantly Appalled by his withdrawal and rage. He may decline to go to work, wear unconventional Clothes, inhabit a residential murk, Plead to strange friends and O's. To him, it seems like evidence, Both luminous and telling, of how earned Independence is little more than yelling. Though protestingly negative, it can be seen Properly as a step, albeit tentative, Towards full maturity. Some kids are sternly radical, others are Altruistic, cynics highly critical, Extremists idealistic. The next few years will Yield emotional enterprise, Successes chosen, fear, tolerance, And Compromise