Can’t follow your own advice, can you?

But if you could, you wouldn’t need

A spell or books or

Castles in the air.

Very well, then —

A second spell

I’ll make for you

For which you cannot fail

To follow through:

A spell for growing up.

 

First stretch towards the stars;

Drink water and eat well.

Don’t worry if things ache or leak,

It is a growing spell.

Then say goodbye to childish things,

The things you’d wished to have

And leave behind all that you loved

Like lakes and lily pads.

The schedule’s quite important,

To becoming grown I hear,

You’ll have to wake up every day

With an alarm in your ear

Then go straight to work,

And never play

And finally return.

There are few new things,

In a grown up’s life, you’ll learn.

 

What’s that? You’d like to

opt out? Ha.

Then do what grownups do:

Deal with your mistakes

As you make them;

There’s no magic spell

For you.

Make your choices wisely, well,

and follow —

Follow through.

That’s how to be a grownup

And it’s a hard, hard, thing

To do.