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Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Bed Time Poem

I tried to think of another way
To help you go to sleep
We'd read a book and sung a song 
And counted all your sheep

And then we read another book
And sang another song
And you wanted a glass of water
And wanted to come along

And when I poured the water wrong
You SCREAMED and told me why
Two pieces of ice were the acceptable way
To prevent your impending cry

You wanted your blanket, the pink, not the blue
You wanted your baby doll
You wanted your bear with the bunny ears
You wanted the light in the hall

You wanted to sing just one more song
After "Rainbow" and "Stay awake"
You wanted a hug and kiss AND A HUG 
You wanted a piece of cake

When I told you "no," you cried and kicked
Oh no, not this. No more!
I placed you screaming in your bed 
And sprinted for the door.  

"DADDY NO!" you cried out to me
While leaping from your bed
As you slipped, and tripped, and slammed the top 
Of your tiny little head

My impatience vanished. My frustration gone
When I heard the thump and your cry
I rushed to your side, pulled your head to my chest
And kissed your swelling eye

And in a bit, when you were over it
And your stuttered sobs collected
The weeps crept away and you ended your day
Curled up in my arms, protected

Sometimes it's rough keeping up with your moods
Sometimes I don't know if I'll make it
Sometimes it takes an hour to put you to bed
Sometimes I just have to fake it

But

Sometimes  you're staring into my eyes
As I finish the verse of a song
And sometimes you're tracking the words on the page
And I know that you're reading along

And

Sometimes, not always, you fall asleep in my arms
And even on the nights that are bad
There's nothing on earth that brings me more joy
Than knowing that I am your dad. 

I love you. Good night.



7 comments:

  1. JOHN! Oh dear Lord. Gave me the goosebumps.
    Great work! ;)

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  2. Love this poem. I enjoy your writing so, so much :) It often reminds me to be more patient, enjoy my kids and the Big Picture!

    - Angela at 4fortheroad.com

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  3. It was like you were reading it right to me, John, cradled in your big strong arms. Also, that musta been a lot of work, with all the rhyming and stuff. If you put it to music, you could sing it to Duchess tonight. Never a wrong time to bring in the meta, especially in verse form.

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  4. What a wonderful father and poet you are! Gorgeous! I'll look for it on iTunes!

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