Pineapple Conscience

For all of us at some time in our life, we find out that we have a conscience 

and we’ve always had it but maybe it never made much sense 

I discovered mine when I was nine years old 

we had a cupboard in our house it wasn’t very big, barely had anything to hold

but one day when I was looking through the cabinets 

which Was never a good habit

I saw something that was like the sun shining brightly from a blue sky

It was a can of Dole pineapple slices that caught my eye

when I looked upon it I knew right then and there that I was going to try

And take that can of pineapples and a little opener

 and sneak to the big tree out back and disappear 

and I was going to eat those pineapples and throw the can over the fence

that’s when I discovered I had a Conscience 

of course, it was only after I had eaten the pineapple slices

when I saw my mom ransacking the cabinet she looked once, then twice

I knew what she was looking for and I never said a word 

I just watched her with the discouraging look on her face it stabbed me like a sword

when she realized they were gone 

She gave up her search

but she had a defeated look on her face my stomach gave a lurch 

Looking at her face, I felt a searing pain in 

my heart from my brain 

I felt like I was being run over by a runaway train

My conscience said you put the anguish in your mamas’ eyes today

I ran outside of the house to the bushes the back way

Right then and there I threw up like there was no tomorrow 

I couldn’t believe I hurt my mama causing her such sorrow 

Over a lousy can of Dole pineapples, my mom would have used to make

My Daddy’s favorite pineapple upside-down cake

I finally told my mom the truth, but it took me 30 years to do

She just looked up at me smiled and said, yes I thought it was you

After thirty years Of holding that in and that’s how long it took

I should have known my mama knew she could read me like a book