Will this be your first?
That was my stupid question for them
I’m not very good at this
They were really quite beautiful together
A perfect couple
Watching the sunset
Clearly expecting
A green flash
I’d just finished this painting
And drinking 3 beers
That’s not the usual
During the course of a painting
But friends had joined me today
And it sometimes goes that way
Words of wisdom
Spoken by an old friend:
“Nothing is better than a two beer buzz”
Truth
It doesn’t get better
Only more difficult
To ask the right questions
This child would not be their first
Or their second
Or third
I don’t remember now
But it was maybe their ninth
Or thirteenth
Something that would make you wonder
If they were much, much older than they looked
So I asked if it was true
That it got easier after the third child
(You can’t ask that of too many folks these days)
They said absolutely
3 is the hardest
After that it gets easier and easier
As they start to raise each other
That’s how they could leave the other 8 or 12 behind
And relax into the sunset here tonight
The team was on top of it at home
Building themselves some dang quesadillas
I’d only had three kids
The most challenging number
Now verified
My folks had three
And I was the last of them
Same for my wife
And I can confirm
That we are two of the most difficult people
You’ll ever meet
Aside from my mom
Who was the first of two
And was also the pinnacle
Of difficulty
She recently walked off into the sunset
I said my goodbyes
Through salty tears
She told me to get off her cloud
So with my feet planted back on the ground
On the edge of this cliff
With the mother and father
Of a small nation beside me
And a setting sun before me
I don’t remember
If there was a green flash
But I knew
I had three kids at home
And three beers on the cliff
And that was enough for me
-Matt Beard