The Poem Writer Poem by Keith Shorrocks Johnson

The slurp sucked at the brimming bowl
The porridge caked the baby's hair
The toddler dodged the food-crust towel
And drove her mother spare
By questioning which day's tomorrow
And whether it's today's to borrow.

‘Let's get a rabbit then' the mother cries
‘God no' the father interjects -
While spooning still the mother plies -
Her bunny offer Lucy curt rejects
As with a hamster preference lies
[a furry brontosaurus in her eyes].

Now the mother's sadly overwrought
With dinosaur and pet shop pain
As endless sleepless moments sought
Hush and order for her brain again:
‘Darling, help me change the baby's nappy
Maybe that will make you happy'
But Lucy skips to subjects new and brighter
She wants to be ‘a poem writer'.