Is There A Teenager In The House?

Look there, sprawled on the floor
Surrounded by pillows and records galore
All tangled up in the cord of the phone
And uttering words that to me are unknown.

The signs are clear -- a teenager lives here.

Look there - it's early morning
That faithful alarm gives it's usual warning
I'm still half asleep - and half way alive
When she says, "We're late mom, I'd better drive."

So with grumbling tones, I pick up my feet
With a half buttoned house coat we tear down the street.

My hair's "Diller" style - I'm gasping for breath
She flips around corners and scares me to death.

There's many a morning I think I can't last
What we don't go through Miss "A" for your class.

The signs are clear -- a teenager lives here.

Look there - look at her room
The walls wildly wearing a psychedelic bloom
There's a heap of apparel worn six days before
And there on her dresser $10.00 perfume!

And the signs are clear -- a teenager lives here.

Look there - in where I'm sewing
Two hours notice to make it - then she's got to get going
The time clicks along - my fingers click too
Haste makes waste is a saying so true.

When the door bell starts ringing I bite off the thread
She walks out the door --- I FLOP ON THE BED.

The signs are clear -- a teenager lives here.

Look there - there she goes
Hand in hand with her date
Telling her mother she won't be out late.
Her cheeks blushed with pinkness, how glossy her hair
One never would guess that a wiglet sets there.

And the signs are clear -- a teenager lives here.

Look there - look at the clock
It's time she were home but again she is not
I toss and I turn and I listen and listen
And think of the sleep that my spouse is not missing.

The signs are clear -- a teenager lives here.

Look there - look at her pep
See how she swings with that modern step
Or waving her pom-poms, cheering at games
Racing on scooters, driving down main.

She's go energy plus - for hours she can linger
But when she's at home - she can't raise a finger.

The signs are clear -- a teenager lives here.

When you look in your fridge, and there's no pop left
And the musics so loud that you think you've gone deaf
When the gasoline bills grow more and more
And you trip over shoes that she dropped on the floor
When the basins with curlers are all over flowing
And a glance in the mirror says my gray hair is showing

The signs are clear -- a teenager lives here.

Now I often have wondered and tried to envision
Just how life would be without constant confusion
How would it be if I were alone
Not waiting my turn for the use of the phone.

I could look out my window and there always would be
A car in the driveway just waiting for me.
My secret ambitions I'd have time to fulfill
A house kept in order --- and silent and still.

Look here - here in my heart
And you'll find the message I'd like to impart
One doesn't know joy -- one's really not living
Unless he is sharing, and helping and giving.

So look in my heart - look deeply within it
The words printed there say "I've loved every minute."

Dedicated to my teenage daughter, Mary Lou.