Ode To Stewed Rutabagas – From The Depths Of A 3-Grader’s Heart and Other Poems

By Nan Corbitt Allen

Ode To Stewed Rutabagas – From The Depths Of A 3-Grader’s Heart

Oh orange root
Thou foulest stench
Pungently permeate morning walls of this primary school.
How shall I think?
How shall I learn?
When I know I must face the teacher’s three-bite rule?

Oh, lunchtime bell
Delay…delay
Or child-sized desk swallow me away
So I may escape the horrible beast
Leviathan on the partitioned plate.

Oh bitter root
Hide thyself
In the half-pint bottom of this carton out of sight.
Mix…don’t curdle
The lukewarm milk
I implore you thence to pass…ne’er alarm…my teacher’s eagle eye.

Mama is Dying

A steady stream
Of lifetime neighbors
The fruits of their labors
Make her better somehow.
Velma brings a casserole
It’ll keep in the freezer
Doesn’t seem to please her
That she’s not hungry right now.

The conversation’s easy
“My daisies are blooming…
And I am assuming
You want me to open the blinds?”
“Here I brought a card
We all signed it Sunday
Says we know one day
You’ll be back and doing fine.”

Dorothy brings roses
Reba cleans the kitchen
Mary wants to pitch in
To do whatever she needs.
And there it is
All unspoken
Their hearts are broken
But mine is full…mine is full indeed.

I built a castle yesterday from refrigerator boxes

I built a castle yesterday from refrigerator boxes
Last night I scared a monster from a spooky bedroom closet
Today I baked some cookies for some not-so worthy causes
Guess you could say
I'm throwing away
The best years of my life.

I have some teddy bears to tea...we're on a first name basis
I spend the afternoon with tales of make-believe places
I've learned the treasured art of cleaning peanut butter faces
Guess you could say
I'm throwing away
The best years of my life.

I must confess
This isn't how I thought success would come
I'd planned to have some great rewards
For the great things I had done.
But when some little arms unfold
And reach out to hold me near
I must admit
There's no reward quite like this.

I built a castle yesterday from refrigerator boxes
Last night I scared a monster from a spooky bedroom closet
But when someday I'm sending children off to worthy causes
I want to say
That these years became
The best years of my life.