Little Johnnie's Ache

Little Johnny came home from school with a bellyache Naturally Mom feared the most recent local outbreak Johnnie thankfully had no fever, she suspected it might be a fake But strange and most bizarre Johnnie had no appetite for steak Or even for his ultimate favourite strawberry shortcake The next morning Johnnie barely could awake Didn’t want to go to school because of a backache Mom thought the cure might just be a nice big pancake Or maybe the warm chocolate muffins that she’d bake But Johnnie just wanted to curl up with his pet rattlesnake In the afternoon, when Little Johnny mentioned a toothache Mom reached for the thermometer in case the first time was a mistake She sent Johnnie for a nap and sat pensive as she took her coffee break Out the window she saw askew the mounds of leaves to rake She got up and tiptoed up the stairs to see what was at stake She found Johnny pouting wide-eyed and awake As she extended to him a warm loving handshake In her heart she felt a sudden jolt of earthquake Poor Little Johnny was growing up at double take And suffering acutely from his very first heartbreak AP: Honorable Mention 2020 Submitted on February 22, 2018