[Douglas G. Brown]

In days of Doctor Spock and Eisenhower,
Benign neglect of children was in flower.
The common way, back then, to raise a kid
Involved ignoring what we said or did.

All summer, we were sent outside to play,
Remaining there until the end of day.
Our evening tales, of what we’d done and seen
Dismissed; unless we used a word obscene.

The outrage of my mother was incurred
If I told her I had stepped upon a turd.
And likewise, dad would scold my little sis
If she mentioned that the puppy took a piss.

And, was my older brother out of luck,
When he exclaimed, “The garbage man said f* * k!”.
We boomer babes were seen but seldom heard,
Until we vocalized a naughty word.