When I have daughters and I have sons

I won't won't spank or scream when I'm blind with rage

I won't lock them in the bathroom when they misbehave

I won't threaten them with the hospital when they say they're not hungry

I won't tell them so much about how Dad--

Hell, I won't even marry somebody like that.

I'll never marry somebody like Dad.

I won't spout empty words like "chase your hopes"

While insisting that an Ivy League school is the only high road

And a career in science the only decent end goal.

I won't claim that I accept LGBTQ and all points of view

And then say of bisexuals, "they're just confused."

I won't ever be an emotionless stone,

Or a workaholic who makes her kids rear themselves on their own

I'll never leave my children to struggle alone.

When I have kids, that's what I won't do.

Instead, I'll use the good from my childhood and ignore all the shit

I'll hug and hold and help and kiss

I'll counsel and console and care and caress

I'll discipline strongly to raise up my kids

But I'll never aim a spank for the bottom and miss

The way Dad did with my little sis

I'll never force my children to be the best

At activities I love but they detest...

I bet Mom and Dad swore all of this, before they had me and my little sis

"I'll never be like my parents," they certainly said,

But it never once changed all the rest.