while thinking of my oldest daughter in high schoo

fair warning to an 18-year-old guy

twelve years ago in October
she and her sister
and her brothers
got a package of goodies
from their grandparents
in Mississippi.
pictures were included,
taken when she and
her older brother
visited there for a month
and I looked at
her pictures:

grandmother had fixed up
her hair,
applied a touch of make-up
and put her in a nice dress.

and looking at my
6-year-old girl
I realized
that she would be the
hottest
girl
walking the high school halls,
the hottest thing
you see now.

as you joke with your buddies
and boast about
what you'd do with
your tongue
and
your dick,
remember these things:
I don't blame you for your
wishful thinking;
it's possible that
I
said and thought
the same things about
your
mother
when she was young.

and...

she grew up with
a rough older brother
and
a rough younger brother
and
a father with
a bad temper that
lingered
for days,
so she's plenty
tough.

if you screw her one day,
literally or figuratively,
keep in mind that
if her brothers don't get you,
if I don't get you,
she will.

so
watch
out.

------------------
"what's jail?"
"everything's jail."

I call you up whenever I'm stoned
we chew the skin, choke on the bones....
I cut you in
c'mon let's go for a fall
--"Cut You In", Jerry Cantrell