Maturity?

My face
has been spanked by
a child today,

as gently as
a kitten might do,
simply for suggesting

said child needed
more years on the ground
before contesting certain things;

I took it well, I think,
which is to say
that after allowing said kitten

to bat and paw,
I set the argument aside
and walked away…

believe me, though,
when I say 
it left me staring 

at a tiger’s big bad claws
retracting into my fingers,
a fantasy of blood on my teeth.