Kids! Such a bother!
Why make such a fuss
Day 12 of 30 Days of Poetry, Autumn 2024
Kids! such a bother! with their smells their ping-pong bodies their infernal racket their pesky refusal to be anywhere other than here, their existence in the world, pooping and stuffing their faces with chips and drinking liquids. Kids! always be repeating words, jumping up and down, picking up butts and putting them in their mouths-- WhY wOuLdYoU DoTHaT? Kids running out in the street, skinny legs racing after AnOTHeR wayward ball! Gawd kids' sandy asses, their their rock piles, those salty tears sobbing over a desiccated worm named Ted-- oh why make such a fuss, hush up the world's so hard stop being such a bother, with your questions, your wonders, your song and dance, all that tender insistance.
Today’s poem is from the word “pesky,” given to me by my friend Colleen. She and I knew each other from my Cup and Saucer days. Colleen adopted a little baby boy named Nick back then. I was in my late 20s and very certain that kids were the most annoying of creatures on God’s green earth.
Then I met baby Nick (and Colleen with Nick) and I started to rethink babies, and kids (and mothers!), their wondrous place on this planet.
Later, when we had little kids, a friend without kids complained loudly at book club how a rude mother with small kids had disrupted her experience on a red-eye flight. I remember thinking “oh wow, that mindset about kids being a bother to all just never goes away!”
Nowadays, kids are the humans I most prefer. Though most of my friends are adults, I love talking to kids of any age, and enjoy their company thoroughly.
