Toys

 The best toy 

The best toy that she ever got

Was the giant cardboard box

Not the shiny plastic toy

With batteries and noise. 

The hours of laughter simply climbing 

Hiding in cupboards just as a dare

The presents abandoned bought with care

Thrown in a corner, no interest there. 

It’s the wrapping paper not the present 

That our toddler prefers

It’s the little things that pique

Her imagination and passion. 

She teeters and totters in shoes

Already too small though brand new

Nowhere safe from her little reach

With every week another inch. 

She worries about little monkey

Who has fallen on his head

Now only five little monkeys 

Are playing on the bed. 

She rises from siesta

With rosy little cheeks 

Her energy restored

God help us this afternoon!

She’s great at blowing kisses

To everyone she greets

You’ll remember Lily well

If you meet her only once. 

Growing up is very hard

When you’re only twenty months old

A lot learn, a lot to climb

With little falls and tiny bumps. 

When at night the light goes out

And nursery rhymes soothe her to sleep

Her grateful parents tiptoe down

To rearrange the toys again. 

For little Lily these days will pass

Weeks and months they go so fast

Only fond memories will remain

Our lives will never be the same.