Danny

Danny was the dirtiest boy on his street
None of the neighborhood kids could compete
He rolled in the dirt, filled his pockets with rocks
and stained every inch of his brand new socks

Every night just before bed
Danny's mother would scrub him from his feet to his head
She'd clean out his ears and wipe out his nose
And scratch between every single one of his toes

And Danny would cry and wiggle and wail
Yet he would be clean, every night without fail
Then on came the pjs that smelled way to good
If he could put a stop to this madness, he would

Meanwhile, as Danny lay clean in his bed
He got a delightful idea in his head
I could put my foot down, I could simply say "no"
I'm almost 5 now, I have rights don't ya know

So the next day when mom called him in from outside
Danny felt there was no reason to hide
He walked into the house with his hands on his hips
And waited for the words to come out of her lips

"It's time to get clean, It's time for the soap"
But Danny just smirked and then boldly said "NOPE"
Then he turned up his nose and gave his hand a quick wave
And said "for your information, I'm refusing to bathe."

"There will be no more scrubbing and wiping, no sir
And I won't be brushing my teeth, for sure
You're not getting any more water on me
For the rest of my life, I will be soap free"

And mom, who was tired of all of the fight
And all of the kicking and screaming at night
And tuckered from being so strict and so stern
Decided that Danny had a lesson to learn

"Okay son," she said with an inside smile
"You can stay dirty if you want for a while
I will not put any more pressure on you
Don't take a bath... if you don't want to "

So Danny set out determined to play
Harder and messier than all other days
He ran and he jumped and he started to sweat
And he was as dirty as a young boy could get

And day after day and the one after that
The mud piled up on his clothes and his hat
His face was so dirty, he made dirty kids proud
He was followed around by a dust filled cloud

But Danny wasn't as happy as he thought he would be
There were some problems with his little plan, you see
He hated to admit where he had gone wrong
But this adventure was lasting too long

"Mom," he said with a soft timid voice
"I know you know all about little boys
I am as miserable as I ever could be
Could you figure out what could be wrong with me?"

"For some strange reason, I itch everywhere
and it feels like my teeth are covered with hair
Everything I eat tastes exactly like dirt
And my black fingernails are starting to hurt

My bed is filled up with two inches of sand
I have dried up bug guts all over my hand
My friends say that I am starting to smell
And that doesn't make a guy feel very well

I am coming to you for a bit of advice
If you could help me, that sure would be nice
I am trying to think of what I can do
To solve all my problems in a minute or two

"Well Danny" said mom again with a smile
"I know what to do, but it might take a while
If you want, I can fix you, and fix you up right
And I think that you will feel all better tonight"

So they scrubbed and wiped in every place
And managed to get all the dirt off his face
They even clipped all ten nails on his toes
And that little boy smelled just like a rose

Then Danny, poor Danny admitted defeat
For he realized that bath time made him complete
It had become part of his day, his daily routine
Because his mom showed her love, by making him clean

Kaci Lund
2004