We wait at the crossing, my boy and me,
Just learning manners - he’s barely three.
"Say thank you, wave!" And there we go:
He lifts his arm. The right one. NO!
The driver freezes. My veins combust.
My boy smiles like 'in Mom I trust.'
The stranger’s face drains white as chalk.
I’m halfway ghost, too stunned to talk.
"Put down your hand," I hiss, half-dead,
My brain is reciting world-war dread.
Kid hums a tune, looking so cute,
After doing a full-on **** Salute.
Heart skips a beat, soul takes a dive,
My kid reenacted nineteen forty-five.
I melt into asphalt, my brain short-circuits,
Muttering prayers and moral frameworks.
I bow, I stammer, I fake a cough,
"Oh, kids - ha ha - not mine!" I scoff.
Her eyes say 'ma’am, your spawn’s possessed.'
I nod. "It's just... He... tried his best."
And as my shame cements its throne,
Let history mark this moment known:
The scene, the quake, the catastrophe,
Of course had to happen in Germany.
Dec 8, 2025
Dec 8, 2025 at 1:47 PM UTC
We wait at the crossing, my boy and me,
Just learning manners - he’s barely three.
"Say thank you, wave!" And there we go:
He lifts his arm. The right one. NO!
The driver freezes. My veins combust.
My boy smiles like 'in Mom I trust.'
The stranger’s face drains white as chalk.
I’m halfway ghost, too stunned to talk.
"Put down your hand," I hiss, half-dead,
My brain is reciting world-war dread.
Kid hums a tune, looking so cute,
After doing a full-on **** Salute.
Heart skips a beat, soul takes a dive,
My kid reenacted nineteen forty-five.
I melt into asphalt, my brain short-circuits,
Muttering prayers and moral frameworks.
I bow, I stammer, I fake a cough,
"Oh, kids - ha ha - not mine!" I scoff.
Her eyes say 'ma’am, your spawn’s possessed.'
I nod. "It's just... He... tried his best."
And as my shame cements its throne,
Let history mark this moment known:
The scene, the quake, the catastrophe,
Of course had to happen in Germany.
I kid you not - most humiliating moment of my entire existence.
Worse than the time my 'butt talking' was discussed on the subway.
I will never - EVER - forget the look on that woman’s face.
I swear, I aged a decade on that crosswalk. For about half a year, we only crossed the street at traffic lights, avoiding any zebra crossings.
But yes, my son is older now, and eventually learned the correct way of saying "thank you" with a hand sign.