I was doing some Spring-cleaning the other day, and while rummaging around in a storage bin I came across a book I suddenly realized has been with me since I was about five years old. Though the cover is creased and faded, and its pages nearly as yellow as a smoker’s teeth, Pennies For The Wishing Well, by Cleaver Deeks, is still an absolute delight.

Reading the poems again and reveling in their celebration of the innocence and sense of discovery that is childhood, I remembered how they helped spur what’s become a lifelong love of the written word. I couldn’t wait to share it with you.

Copied below are three of my favorites. Hope you enjoy them, and please let me know some of your favorite poems from when you were young.

            Little Billy’s Loose Tooth

             Little Billy had a tooth his tongue could wiggle, wiggle.

             Little Billy wasn’t scared, in fact, he giggled, giggled

             Then one day the tooth popped out

             And Little Billy made such a shout!

             As the alien gas, no longer trapped,

             Fried everybody’s brains into squiggle, squiggles.

           

            Goose Under The Bridge

             There’s a goose under the bridge!

             Yes, a goose lives under the bridge!

             Give her the crumbs and the crust of your bread

             Or give her the pellets from the dispenser instead

             What fun it is to feed the goose

             and the goslings that do flock her

             And ponder the psych0-sexual vibes you’ve been getting from your doctor.

             

            Cannibal Circus

             The cannibal circus is coming to town!

             We know Mommy and Daddy won’t let us down

             Last year was Grandma who survived her chagrin

             That it costs an arm and a leg to get in.