Tag Archives: babysitting

Where Has She Gone?

(Poem 202 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/zEOMpm

Oh, where has she gone, Ava dear, Ava dear?
Oh, where has she gone, your sweet mother?
She has left me here alone with the dog and her bone.
Will she come home, or leave me with my brothers?

Oh, where has she gone, Caleb dear, Caleb dear?
Oh, where has she gone, your sweet mother?
She has left me here all day with the cat and games to play.
Will she come home to me, my sister, and my brother?

Oh, where has she gone, Jacob dear, Jacob dear?
Oh, where has she gone, your sweet mother?
She has left me here to starve, so a turkey I must carve.
Will she come home to me, my sister, and my brother?

Oh, where has she gone, Sissy dear, Sissy dear?
Oh, where has she gone, your sweet mother?
She has left me here with them; my prospects are grim.
Will she come home to me, and those others?

Oh, where has she gone, Bear dear, Bear dear?
Oh, where has she gone, your sweet mother?
She has left me here with Lou; now I think I have the flu.
Will she come home, please, so I can recover?

@Home Studio – 202nd poem of the year

Runner ups for the Missing Mother photos to accompany my poem:

Gingerbread House

(Poem 79 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

AI Generated image I prompted on Gencraft.com https://gencraft.ai/p/MYQd8h

There’s a real life
gingerbread house
down the road and
around the bend.

I used to babysit
a boy who grew into
a very tall man who
married a wife
and had some kids
and lives there now.

Once my charges
were fed and bathed,
stories read, I’d eat
their parents’ snacks
and watch MTV—
when it was actually
about music videos
like Thriller and
The Police,
Tears for Fears,
Madonna’s
Papa Don’t Preach,
Aha, and
Careless Whisper.

I appreciated the
pocket change I
earned from my
first childhood job,
but my real paycheck
was the chance to
watch ZZ Top and
Duran Duran.

Those blessed reels
were my lifeline to
Sweet Dreams in the
Still of the Night
and the soundtrack
of my adolescence.

@Home Studio – 79th poem of the year