Da Dee Dee Poem by A. G. Bawang

you squeeze my cheeks
like you do your bath time sponge
you grab my hair for dearest life
as I shake my head in protest

you laugh your puerile amusement
as you stamp and bend your wobbly feet
on my belly-nonstop
I say enough!
and you pierce my ear with a cry
that can only be equaled by piggish whines
when their skin gets pricked
by needles or spines

at last you reward my ears
with halcyon silence
and my eyes with hints of smiles
but only after a thousand faces,
endless hushes, throbbing muscles,
and a bro-
ken back.