Miss Sarah's Book of Practical Poems

[Urahra 5363]

 

 

Children's Poetry by Sarah Styrne-Napier

Published 1813 IST.

 

 

WELCOME

 

Welcome to the dreamers of dreams,
The wishers of wishs, the thinkers of thoughts -
With more in their heads than they wear on their faces,
With feelings that tie their hearts into knots.

 

Welcome to the nighttime philosophers,
Who lie hours abed just lost in their minds,
Wandering corridors of fantasy, memory -
Who can describe all the things they might find?

 

Welcome to those who whisper sweet prayers
Up to a God they're hoping will listen -
Welcome to those who daydream all day -
Creating inside them their own perfect fiction.

 

If you live in a world that's all your own making
And the real thing seems paler by compare -
Then I welcome you warmly into this volume,
For, my dear friend, we have tales to share.

 

UNKINDNESS

 

They've called me a name which is not my own.
They said something what made me groan.
They've called me a monster, a pig, and a brute -
They've told me they want to give me the boot!

 

But why do they tell me these cruel, awful things?
Why do they treat me like I'm their plaything?
Everything springs from a logical cause,
Even the actions that might give us pause.

 

When the king of the jungle's got a thorn in his paw,
He lets out a roar from his snarling maw -
But really he's hoping for someone to see
That he's actually hurting and not quite so beastly.

 

So maybe, with sweetness, we can change peoples' ways.
Maybe if we're patient and count down the days -
Little by little, we can alter their minds
And transform them slowly into someone kind.

 

CHORES

 

Oh, how I hate to sweep the floor!
I hate to mop! I hate my chores!
I'd rather be swinging on the gallows.
I'd rather toil in fields a-fallow.
I'd rather cut myself on something sharp.
I'd even rather learn to play the harp!
I'd rather suck a hundred toes.
I'd follow the wind wherever it blows.
I'd sail the sea for a hundred years.
I'd face every last one of my terrible fears!
I'd sit in the mud. I'd swallow a needle.
I'd eat great, big handfuls of worms and beetles!
I'd dive in a lake and sleep with the fishes
If it meant I'd never again be forced to dishes!
Yet a clean house bring my family joy, 
So I guess - this time - I'll pick up my toys. 

 

DIFFERENCES

 

She had green skin and a mouth of tusks.
He had a beard with an earthy musk.
She had long ears and hair that's yellow.
He had round ones - that funny fellow!

 

On the outside, they couldn't compare
Green skin, long beards, and flaxen hair.
But on the inside, they were all the same,
For each one had a soul unto their name.

 

Each had a heart that pattered swiftly,
Each had eyes that sometimes got misty,
Each had a tongue to speak words sweet,
And - yes! Each one had exactly two feet!

 

Though they seemed different at first glance,
Those differences arose merely by chance.
Instead of looking at what sets us apart,
Let's first take a look at what's in the heart.

 

WISH

 

One time, I wished upon a star
And asked God to make me someone new.
I was sick of living in my skin.
I'd rather walk in another's shoes.

 

So the good Lord, in his wisdom,
Took me out on quite the spin.
He put me in all different bodies -
Tall and short and thick and thin!

 

I lived a hundred lives that night.
I tried to be all different kinds -
But I found that no life suited me
Except for this one, which is mine.

 

WORDS

 

O child of mine, make sure to be kind
And be thoughtful in all that you say -
Because you never know when an unkind word
Might ruin someone's day.

 

You can't look through another's eyes
And see what's in their life.
Perhaps they've ripped their favorite suit.
Perhaps they've fought with their darling wife.

 

Perhaps they've fallen down the stairs.
Perhaps they spilled a cup of tea.
Perhaps they broke their easy chair.
Perhaps they've been stung by a bee.

 

You mustn't add another thing
To a person's list of troubles -
For when you say an unkind word,
You take their woe and make it double.

 

AUDIENCE

 

I want to sing a lovely song.
I want to write a poem.
I want to paint a pretty scene,
But I've got no one to show 'em.

 

No one wants to see my work.
There's no audience for my plays.
They've turned their noses up at me,
But I'll make art anyway!

 

SHOES

 

Here's a funny question for you -
How does a foot fit inside a shoe?
The cobbler crafted the shoe from leather,
Made it to suit the wearer's pleasure.
He built the sole to cradle the heel,
Just like a banana inside of its peel.
So whenever loneliness takes hold of your heart,
Just remember that God has a shoemaker's art -
And God has made somebody precisely for you,
In the same way a foot fits inside of a shoe.

 

LOOKS

 

Rough scars scrawled o'er her face -
Her skin all bumpy and crumpled.
She could not claim a painting's grace.
No, she looked like a paper a-rumpled.
Her curls were frizzled, her finger knobby,
Her eyes were dark and her legs were wobbly.
She had a laugh sounded like a horse
And her back was bent at an angle, of course -
Yet none of those things mattered one bit.
For instead of beauty, she had her wit.
No pretty face will last forever,
But it hardly matters if you're clever -
For true friends will love what's inside of you
And no matter your looks, they'll always be true.

 

END

 

And so, together, we've reached the end.
I do hope I've made you a friend. 
For a conclusion's not so sad, you see,
If you're standing here with me.

 

 

 

Dedicated to my late step-mother

Yuliya Styrne-Napier

 

[hemomancy 2905]

Mirabella Violet hummed as she realized a friend had put a new paper upon her desk, at some point. The Court Poet set her own work aside and read over it, giving a small approving nod. "Very...  very sweet." She'd hum to herself, placing the it between the pages of a book, then set it into a shelf for safekeeping.

[Fie 2521]

"The orc is suprisingly well-spoken," commented Anne Caroline as she finished reading over those poems.