When I was young
my parents got me a dog
to teach me responsibility.
It was a fine dog but
nearly starved.

So they bought me a car
to encourage pride of ownership.
I used it to run away from home
and then abandoned it.

So the got me a job
to teach me the value of hard work.
I took my first paycheck,
quit the job, and squandered the money.

After that, they gave up.

All these years later I remain
irresponsible, own little,
and am often broke.

Hard as it was,
I learned those lessons well.
   - mce