I.
Right after those balloons the other night,
The kids were hungry. So we went to eat.
Big Nick's. Two places: pizza on the right,
And burgers on the left. Out on the street,
A bunch of fam'lies eating in the cold.
We stood in line inside. And pretty soon,
When waiting for a seat had gotten old,
The kids wailed out a hungry-thirsty tune.
I pulled two waters out of their display
- two Evians - And handed one to each.
They'd wanted sodas. But to their dismay,
On finding wet relief within their reach,
They couldn't argue. While they stood in line,
A seed of ownership put out a root.
And in their minds, they called the bottles MINE.
This waited two more days to bear its fruit.
II.
Day after next, they asked for them again.
Except they disagreed on whose was whose.
I said I couldn't tell. They said, "WE can!"
Unfortunately, when I let them choose,
The bottle they selected was the same.
I'd turn around, and switch them in my hands,
Then turn to face a claim and counterclaim
(An impasse any parent understands).
When this had been repeated quite enough
- and how they chose, I simply couldn't think -
I saw the time had come for getting tough,
And poured the stupid bottles down the sink.
Then oddly, all was well. The water gone,
And with it, any argument they'd had,
They sized things up and then they just moved on.
The case was solved by fiat, by their dad.
...who wishes they would listen ev'ry day,
To all the silly things he has to say,
Without that sense of fairness in the way.
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Alysa Salzberg
Melissa Miles McCarter
Scarlett Sumac
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Matt Paust
Jowita Bydlowska
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Comments
And I have no patience, my voice goes a few decibels higher, hand-flapping, y'know, the Latina way.
"Rules for solving. No physical moves. No yelling or bad words. If you break the rules, the item gets thrown out. Now, solve it between yourselves." My mom told me once her grandmother always put the two arguers in the yard and told them to "thrash" it out, but that if she heard it, she would "thrash" them.
I wasn't into "thrashing," so the above became a better method for me. The cool thing was, soon they began saying, "We know the rules. We have to solve it." Maybe sharing this helps.
Another glorious poem, DB! Thank you.
froggy, judging from your wonderful post "3:00 pm - The School Bus Arrives", yes you have, and are. Thanks for adding your voice here.
vanessa, oy, 3. My mom had 4. How in the h- ?
Pilgrim, Thermal Insulation of Southern Africa? Tertiary Institutes Allied Staff Association? Google is no help here at all. OK, I give... ?
scupper, my only challenge to your solution is when one kid or the other has it in his AGENDA that the thing be thrown out. And everything else is a ruse. Argggghhh.
anna1, yes, that's me laughing up my sleeve that you hear.
pastvoices, don't put a lot of stock in any solution of mine -- its effectiveness is only temporary.
Kate, wise? Hm... honestly, just lucky that it worked that particular day.
Y, yes indeed, when they are quiet. That's when I go looking for them.
trilogy, I don't know when it was, exactly, that I learned the word. But it was after several years of DRIVING Fiats when I was younger (you probably remember when they were sold in the US, no?).
Thanks again, and always, for coming by. I love writing this stuff, and I love having you all read it. How much better can it get.
Goodnight!