Shelby learned her numbers on small tiles
One was easiest, just as she was one
Two was curvy, and two was familiar
These numbers were easy to remember
She was a smart girl, full of life and fun
Three represented the cookies she had
For dessert that day, and four makes one more
Numbers, she found, got her in trouble
Add one, it's time-out, but what was the harm?
Shelby grew with her tiles packed away
Plus one, she did not forget, means trouble
Those number tiles had helped her greatly
Tiles teaching life lessons no one could
Who knew that numbers could be so helpful?
And as she aged, numbers kept returning
She thought, just one more drink, with slurring words
The number tiles alive in her head,
Put down her drink, and had water instead
Shelby got home that night, safely and calm
She ran to her closet of old treasures,
Pulled out the box of worn number tiles,
And began to count aloud, one, two, three..
She stacked the tiles, some chipped, some broken
And took a step back, just staring at them
With a one, two- she thrust her foot forward
The tiles scattered all over the floor
Drunk and emotional, she stood frozen
With nothing but numbers in front of her
Just one more, she smirked, stepping on a three,
Went to her cupboard and made another....
_________________________________________________________
Enoch's Blocks By Olivia Clare
Little Enoch learned his colors from lettered blocks
(for A is the color of fleet,
B is the color of war and demolition,
C is the color of echo and blur,
&c.) and built
a bricolage:
So CAB was a whirring warbler.
BACH was the Spanish Armada crashing
and crashing.
And ENOCH he couldn’t describe.
And when it reached the height of Enoch,
standing, he tore whole tongues
down to their colors.
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