I know I haven't been an easy child,
             But love for you lies underneath my whims;
             There is no way I could be tame or mild:
             I need sometimes to shout and wave my limbs.
             You're the wall that I need to test my height,
             The countervailing force to test my strength,
             The chain I hammer at with all my might,
             Even though you have increased its length.
             It's tough, I know, to be both Mom and Dad,
             To raise me all alone, just hit or miss;
             To have to play at once good cop and bad,
             And give me grief before my goodnight kiss.
             But love against the odds is stronger still:
             I need your fierce, proud love, and always will.
             ...