The Inside Zoo!

I've got a zoo inside me,
just jumpin' to get out.
Then my mommy says,
"Please quit hopping through the house!"

And then I try to tell her
'bout the naughty zoo inside,
when my jumpin' all around
makes Sis and me collide!

"I said, 'Quit hopping through the house!'"
says my mama (kind of loud!)
So I hop around OUTSIDE,
trying not to make a sound!

Without even planning it,
I find myself back IN...
And before I know it,
I'm in trouble once again!

This time it was the lion!
He HAD to say his speech!
He roared so loud and long
that he was heard for blocks
for weeks!

And so I'm sittin' in the corner
Trying hard to make me smile,
But the naughty monkey in me
Is scheming all the while!

He starts pullin' on the lamp cord
and swingin' in through the air!
And before I can catch him,
he somersaults over a chair!

My mom and dad come running
as swiftly as the deer.
But that naughty monkey in me?
He runs away and hides in fear!

I try to tell my daddy
that it isn't me at all.
But he just looked at me and said,
"It's a good thing you're so small!"

I try to tell my mommy
'bout this naughty "inside zoo",
but she just shakes her head
and heaves a sigh or two.

So, you see, this zoo inside me
is a problem I have found...
And I get into trouble
every time I turn around!

But then I go to bed,
And soon I fall asleep!
And the zoo-man cages them
and tells me it's for keeps!

Sure! (In my dreams!)

But, he says that it will happen.
He claims the day will dawn
when I'll grow and truly find
this zoo inside me--GONE!


by Charlotte Howard Saben
1978-Aug. 3