There is sorrow in the household;
There’s a grief too hard to bear;
There’s a little cheek that’s tear-stained
There’s a sobbing baby there.
And try how we will to comfort,
Still the tiny teardrops come;
For, to solve a vexing problem,
Curly Locks has wrecked his drum.
It had puzzled him and worried,
How the drum created sound;
For he couldn’t understand it
It was not enough to pound
With his tiny hands and drumsticks,
And at last the day has come,
When another hope is shattered;
Now in ruins lies his drum.
With his metal bank he broke it,
Tore the tightened skin aside,
Gazed on vacant space bewildered,
Then he broke right down and cried.
For the broken bubble shocked him
And the baby tears must come;
Now a joy has gone forever:
Curly Locks has wrecked his drum.
While his mother tries to soothe him,
I am sitting here alone;
In the life that lies behind me;
Many shocks like that I’ve known.
And the boy who’s upstairs weeping,
In the years that are to come
Will learn that many pleasures
Are as empty as his drum.
(Edgar Albert Guest)
More Poetry from Edgar Albert Guest:
Edgar Albert Guest Poems based on Topics: Joy & Excitement, Life, Babies, Hope, Cry, Pleasure, Grief- Baby's Got A Tooth (Edgar Albert Guest Poems)
- The Change-Worker (Edgar Albert Guest Poems)
- Runner McGee: (Who Had "Return if Possible" Orders) (Edgar Albert Guest Poems)
- The Lay For The Troubled Golfer (Edgar Albert Guest Poems)
- When Father Played Baseball (Edgar Albert Guest Poems)
- If Only I Were Santa Claus (Edgar Albert Guest Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Life Poems, Joy & Excitement Poems, Cry Poems, Hope Poems, Grief Poems, Pleasure Poems, Babies PoemsBased on Keywords: teardrops, tear-stained, drumsticks