What is this tendency to not attempt?
My mom and BFF both seem the same,
the way they fling, as if they were exempt
from trying harder. Each will make the claim
of age. It’s like she has by now outgrown
the hero’s obligation to press on:
too old to learn, too antsy to be shown
a way, as if the will to learn were gone.

Impatient and impulsive as they are,
the elder doesn’t stand a chance to change,
but my old friend deserves a silver star
in reconsideration – she has range
and wisdom – given time she might not quit,
on seventh thought, succeeding hissy fit.