Dear Child Consciousness

I was raised a Roman Catholic. The universe is my empire. I’d walk a mile downtown for confession to a priest known for anonymity.

Narcissism is my name. God is what I do. And because Cold Mountain only hurts the one it loves, now I’m a Taoist hermit.

I make exceptions for my family. I worship my granddaughter. She thinks I'm grand enough but no one needs another parent.

Unstoppable social conditioning is meeting immovable self-awareness. They call it the terrible twos. It's the law of three.

The Madonna of the Lilies by William-Adolphe Bouguereau