Don’t You Dare!

  

 

Don’t you dare

Take me for a fool!

Treating me like I’m nobody

Is not cool.

 

I have value

And I am important

So, mistaking me for a fool,

I totally resent.

 

Don’t you dare

Tempt me young man!

Whenever you address me, boy,

You must say Mam.

 

We are no friends

Or even contemporaries,

Get it right from the beginning!

I am a lady.

 

 

 

Don’t you dare

Go out that door!

I have set you your boundaries

And I’ll say no more.

 

I brought you in

And would take you out!

Understand I am your mother;

Don’t you doubt.

 

Don’t you dare

Leave those shoes there!

The maid you are looking for,

You won’t find here.

 

Take them with you

And the filthy socks too

And try doing some of the chores

You expect me to do.

 

Like making your bed

And sweeping your room,

Your mother gets very tired too;

Here’s the broom.

 

 

 

Don’t you dare

Be talking back to me

Unless you want a mouth of teeth

To be suddenly empty.

 

I am your father

And don’t you forget it,

If you are too big for the belt,

I would use a stick.

 

Don’t you dare

Keep friends with them,

I can see they are up to no good

And will be a problem.

 

 

 

Don’t you dare

Not read this poem,

I have now dared you enough

And must be going.

 

Since you got this far

Just read on to the end

For all that’s left for me to say is,

Thanks, my friend.

 

Stewart Russell © February 14, 2026

 

Still Awaiting a Response

Not many seemed up to the challenge

To solve the riddle I gave

But rest assured it could not be

Byron, Christopher or Dave.

None of these is a girl’s name

Hence none of these is correct,

I am assuming no one got it

Since no one has responded yet.

The third girl arrived today

She was not mentioned in the song,

If you didn’t check the link

Now is the time to run along.

If any of you worked it out

Please tell me at which clue,

I gave you three important ones

As early as in verse two.

These three girls are not girls

But they figure in everyone’s life,

The name of one of them

Is the name of a good friend’s wife.

It may not be a serious poem

But just a moment to be light,

If all of life is about serious matters

Then something just isn’t right.

So please humour me a little

And respond to my poetic riddle,

Tell me the names of the three girls

Including the one in the middle.

I will be back to the serious stuff

Soon, if it be the will of God,

Meanwhile, let me know of your success

So I can join in the applause.

This current poem I am writing

Is to give you another chance,

Three girl-names I am looking for

Please answer up and advance.

  

I’m tempted to give you the answer

But I think it’s best to hold back,

So now you’ve got the opportunity

Why not give it a crack?

Stewart Russell © June 2019