The Hive

It begins with an itch The little child scratches it Once or twice But the itch grows And soon the little child Is scratching constantly; A feverish red patch of skin Irritated by constant scratching The itch becomes more intense And harder to resist And naturally a hive develops Soon full blown And itchier than ever, The little child is scratching constantly... Stop that! You'll only make it worse, Mother says, And so the little child stops scratching For a moment, Because Mother always knows what is best. W.A CHOLT. Copyright Fergal O Reilly. 2018. 13/10/18

Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem.

Please Login to post a comment

Lindsay Laurie

Date: 10/14/2018 6:17:00 PM

G'day W. A. … good advice from Mum, but crikey, an itch is the hardest thing not to scratch. Nicely done - Lindsay

W.A. Cholt
Date: 10/15/2018 1:20:00 PM

Thanks Lindsay, your comment is much appreciated.

Kim Rodrigues

Date: 10/13/2018 7:53:00 PM

So intense an itch. She listens to mom, so obedient, but there is the eye catching “for a moment” that holds our attention. Clever.

W.A. Cholt
Date: 10/15/2018 1:31:00 PM

Thanks Kim, I appreciate your comment. I think I would have been in the disobedient category myself. A moment is a long time for a young mind focused on an itch.