Mind The Wife You Choose, Son
I'd mind the wife you choose, son, for here, great care is needed,
As many have paid the price when such counsel they’ve not heeded.
It’s far from a little matter who you choose to be your wife,
Therefore, watch that youthful passion, lest pain soon engulf your life.
It's been said that love is blind, and so often that has proved true,
So give this lots of thought, lest you end up with someone you’ll rue.
You wouldn't be the first, son, and you'll certainly not be the last
To set your eyes and heart upon, one whom your arms should never clasp.
It’s far better to stay single than to make a big mistake
By marrying a woman that you wouldn’t be wise to take.
And the same goes for a woman, lest she too, make a mistake
By taking for a husband, one that she too, really shouldn’t take.
Please listen to your father, son, for I’m a male just like you,
I know the way you’re feeling, for I have felt the same way too.
But one must be objective when one is thinking of a wife,
Lest the physical, or emotional, wrongly affect your future life.
Yes, listen to your father, son, for I’ve learnt a thing or two,
Having seen so many men tumble, once unchecked desire grew.
For some it’s been adultery, for others, ’twas simply lust,
But somewhere, we all come unstuck, when in self we put our trust.
You may be tired of hearing things that I state to spare you ill,
But such you should consider, son, if you wish that all go well.
Many fathers when they were younger such advice chose to spurn,
And now, are warning their own sons, lest they too, the hard way learn.
Yes, fathers are human too, son, but good fathers try their best
To spare their children sadness found in many a marital nest.
Therefore, take that time that is needed to ensure that your choice
Will be the one that is wisest, for that way, you’ll soon rejoice.
Good judgment is needed daily as we make our way through life,
For wrongly-made decisions can bring us an awful lot of strife.
And it’s not just we who suffer, as others can be affected
By our errors of judgment, and when wisdom we’ve rejected.
The wise young man or woman in experience will invest,
Such being, discerning parents, and wiser elders, who know best.
For ignoring wisdom given, or providentially sent,
Could mean that in the future -- who you've chosen -- you will lament.
Love can always wait to give, but lust can never wait to get,
So first make sure that you’re worthy of that one on whom you’re set.
Yes, women should pick good husbands, and men should pick good wives,
For those who have chosen badly, have had troubles plague their lives.
By Lance Landall
You may also like to read my poem: "Undisciplined Desire".