Allowance

(12)  

Raise a toast to those who open closed doors; 
who prod at things declared shut, no trespass, 
red tape, non-negotiable; who've put a foot 
in their mouth, committed uncountable faux pas, 
yet come back spine straight, unashamed, un- 
abashed. You get to an age when it no longer 
daunts you, when other people think you should 
feel small, put in your place; for putting so much 
of yourself on the line, for letting your feelings 
show instead of keeping them in. Your father- 
in-law, making bread, once said, watch how 
everything you've set on the surface of dough 
develops— even or unevenly spaced, lacking 
in sweetness or salt: elastic, all rise together
.