Best Tike Poems
The humid air sweats streaming curls down the toddler’s flush cheeks like Fusilli hot from the stove. The golden ringlets cling to her forehead, bouncing like Slinky’s in front of her, blue-agate, eyes. The backyard’s sounds-bat cracks and wise cracks-surround her. Squeals echo from the mounds of loam behind her new house. The homes out back form a red, yellow, blue, green monopoly board configuration.
The sand box she sits in is full of scrap two-by-four blocks. Using a naked purple-haired troll doll, she attacks the pine-block castle, tumbling the battlement. A plank spans the puddle
(created by the leaky green garden hose). The barefoot tike, troll in hand, starts across the board toward the moonscape of mud mounds; where her sister and friends run screeching armed with rotten tomatoes. She almost makes it before falling in and running mud covered to mother.
Polish Catholics, Italian Catholics and Irish Catholics, lived side by side with English Presbyterian’s and we errant, runaway, Jews. The scent of tomato paste, knackwurst and borscht wafts through the same soupy air, where we play King of the Mountain. Big Boys and Plum tomatoes flew indiscriminately through the August air like missiles. The only thing which stopped the action was the distance ringing bell of the Good Humor truck, here on Cherry Tomato Alley. Here where each new neighbor had transplanted themselves: their children, their gardens, their sprinklers, and their cars to fulfill the American dream.
First Published in Melancholy Hyperbole Spring 2015
Categories:
tike, childhood,
Form:
Prose
‘Twas in another century
On a desolate, dreary day
When something red from skies above
Wafted into the land of gray.
It slowly drifted in the sky,
Then lit on the head of a boy.
For reasons that are unexplained,
It filled his heart with joy.
But the land of grey - it had rules,
Whether they be written or “un-“.
Here every hat must be grey,
And exceptions there would be none.
The notice of the king’s two henchmen,
This violation did not escape.
They took it upon themselves,
The youth’s behavior to reshape.
Perhaps it bothered those big men
To hear that cap say, “look at me!”,
But who can translate words said in “hat”?
It could have screamed “I am free!”
The soldiers were dealt three more cards
And those were number, age, and size.
They grabbed and tossed up that red cap
Back and forth high in the grey skies.
The lad could not catch that dear hat.
Those brute’s mouths filled with laughter.
The tike was separated from his joy
Which he desperately ran after.
Why’d these bruisers enjoy their jobs?
Was it just control to maintain?
Or the simple joy of sharing
The pleasure of inflicting pain?
While we do not know the answer,
We know they hid the hat so trusty
And relegated that red headgear
‘Neath a chair, dark and dusty.
This once political prisoner -
Did he escape? Forgotten instead?
He performed his mystical magic
And is now sitting upon my head.
Categories:
tike, bullying, childhood, freedom, magic,
Form:
Rhyme
My Daddy played a trick on me
When I was just a tike
Asleep; I was in dreamland town
A 'riding on my bike
And suddenly! I hear a noise
A clanging sound it seems
It was my Dad with pots in hand
He's banging on the beams!
He's shouting out "Wake up! Wake up!
We're getting in the ride
It's time to go, no time to waste
We've got to get outside!
There are bees in here, they're everywhere
They're stinging all they see
Get in those clothes, hitch up your boots
It's time for us to flee!"
So up I jump, still in a daze
What happened to my bike?
Where are my clothes, can't find my boots
Oh my - this I don't like
We run outside; "Hey! Where's the car?
Dad woke us up you know
Those bees in there will sting for sure
It's time for us to go!"
My Dad's outside with teary eyes
From laughing all the way
He turns to us and with a grin
"It's April Fools today!"
Categories:
tike, april, dad, fun, funny,
Form:
Rhyme
Mary had a little lamb
The birth was quite a sensation
It should go down in the history books
She needed a lot of sedation
Pinocchio had a very long nose
It grew when telling a lie
Geppetto couldn't keep it from growing
No matter how hard he tried
Three little piggies went tripping along
To the butcher, they were the target
Who was bent on chopping these piggies up
To sell 'em at the local market
Baa baa black sheep have you any wool
Of course the answer is yes
They're sheep, that's a real silly question
Three bags full would be my guess
Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle
Didn't think cats could play an instrument
Though I've heard some play a viola
That'd be like me climbing trees, the equivalent
Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
At my age, you must be jazzing me
It's been a long time since I was nimble or quick
Was probably just a wee tike of three
Georgie Porgie pudding and pie
The current trend is over eating
No wonder obesity is rampant in the world
Bad habits our kids we've been teaching
Mary had a little lamb
She also had a goat
Mary's been messing with the animals again
Naughty Mary, I here do quote
© Jack Ellison 2015
Categories:
tike, silly,
Form:
Narrative
Mary had a little lamb
The birth was quite a sensation
It should go down in the history books
She needed a lot of sedation
Three little piggies went tripping along
To the butcher, they were the target
Who was bent on chopping these piggies up
To sell 'em at the local market
Baa baa black sheep have you any wool
Of course the answer is yes
They're sheep, that's a real silly question
Three bags full would be my guess
Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
At my age, you must be jazzing me
It's been a long time since I was nimble or quick
Was probably just a wee tike of three
Georgie Porgie pudding and pie
The current trend is over eating
No wonder obesity is rampant in the world
Bad habits our kids we've been teaching
Mary had a little lamb
She also had a goat
Mary's been messing with the animals again
Naughty Mary, I here do quote
© Jack Ellison 2015
Categories:
tike, nursery rhyme,
Form:
Quatrain
Winter beach
09/08/2018
Cool breeze, Leafless trees, Arctic freeze
White cap waves, crumple and cave
Solemn solitary Seagull, pestering peckish people
Sandy seaweed soaked, covers beach cloaked
Frozen fisherman, fearlessly on rock stand
Baby carriages creaking, silent sleep waking
Boxer dog proud, breaks silence loud
Terrifying tike terrorises on her bike
Vast vista view, living large a few
Clear sky cloud free, wind swept jet stream
Smelling salts from sea, rejuvenation for me
Categories:
tike, beach, beautiful,
Form:
Alliteration
Young G’s sporting tattooed gunz, on rolling black streets,fishing without water, amphibians of the dark ghettos,with names like Ricochet Rob, because he once dreamt of shooting straight.Mumbles, who’s mom was a midnight walker. He was not named for that, butbecause he was hit in the head to much, as a tike and stays drunk, on liquid crack.Then there is Bboss, just because he says so and their ship goes wayback. Riding in circles, on the wavy vinyl streets.They roll up on their port, this side of an intersection, they cannot pass, for the other side its just to deepThey hop out of the grey primered lowrider and begin clubbing, off the hip.Clubing their wares, slingin caps, dumping on anything, that is hauling ass.The stray paint hits, an innocent ankle-biter, across the sea.The truth is black lives matter, unless you are a pirate, with a carbineand are colored blinded, by dead presidents.
4/30/2017
Categories:
tike, abuse, america, black african
Form:
Free verse
(All in fun, my friends!!!)
In spite of my charm and amazing good looks
There are things I want you to know
I don't wear undies on weekdays and Saturdays
Which leaves only Sundays to go
Undies sure inhibit my freedom of movement
While I strut up and down the mall
My sexiness is not something I usually can hide
Exuding my sweet charms to all
Guess I might sound like an raving egomaniac
One look and you'll surely know why
This hunk of humanity has been dazzling the ladies
Since I was just a wee tike of a guy
So I'll be taking requests from you ladies
To enjoy my sweet charms for a night
The cost relates directly to the perceived value
So take a number for a heavenly flight
© Jack Ellison 2015
Categories:
tike, humorous,
Form:
Quatrain
What drives people to kill one another
Are they made of different stuff
Is their brain matter arranged so differently
Can't imagine being angry enough
Enough to take the life of another human
Over passion, possessions, or greed
So foreign to everything I have ever learned
I live by my daddy's creed
Dad once told me when I was just a tike
Each one of us is created equal
I've never forgotten his words to this day
Prejudice is absolutely pure evil
What gives man the right to claim otherwise
To aquire an unsatiable appetite
To pillage and plunder for the sake of power
We all meet the same end despite
Wars have been fought for as long as forever
At my age I won't see an end
As long as each one of us has love in our hearts
We can hold our heads high, my friends
© Jack Ellison 2015
Categories:
tike, appreciation, dad, prejudice,
Form:
Quatrain
Isn't this a sweet picture my friends
Sipping sodas after the hop
Much too young to remember this music
Doo-wop was Mom's and Pop's
Was just a wee tike in diapers then
Sucking on my thumb
Still was quite the ladies man though
Traveling around on my bum
Seem to be picking up negative vibes
About what I'm saying here
Have I ever lied to you people before
I'm not giving you the gears
Okay okay I've decided to come clean
Sipped sodas after the hop
That's where I met my first true love
First ever to say 'doo-wop'
So beat me up with a bunch of wet noodles
I've led you poor guys astray
My evil twin is now running the show
Lost control of what I say
© Jack Ellison 2013
Categories:
tike, nostalgia,
Form:
Quatrain
I sometimes have trouble expressing myself
My words at times are misleading
Like when I wanted to relate to my grandson
The car that passed us was speeding
These are the words that actually came out
“That car is EXPEEDING THE SKIMLIT”!
He looked at me strangely and rolled his eyes
And said “My grandpa's a dimwit”!
My sister is afflicted with a similar disease
Passing some orange groves one day
Told us the row of rundown shacks
Is where “The MIGRAINE WORKERS stay”!
Another winner from my dear lovable sister
The doc said there's a chance that maybe
Because her daughter was having such difficulty
“They might have to SEDUCE THE BABY”!
One more of these gems then I really must go
I was trying to describe this little tike
“Look over there,” I told my dear wifey-poo
“At that KID ON A RED-HAIRED BIKE”!
© Jack Ellison 2015
(A re-broadcast)
Categories:
tike, silly,
Form:
Quatrain
Fragile antiques
Old doll houses
and old love letters from the spouses
16 year old yearbooks
with old fashioned looks
Old musty smells
and cracked Christmas bells
Worn teddy bears
on 3 legged chairs
Pink fluffy mess
an ugly vintage dress
Red rusty bike
whose brand is Tike
Chipped tea cups
in boxes from UPS
Dusty record player
a plastic dragon slayer
Faded white onesies
and pink-purple ponies
Beautiful dream catchers
The tape Body Snatchers
Old cooking books
and rusty fishing hooks
Brown roller skates
in bright yellow crates
Shiny awards
your husbands old swords
Halloween costumes
and old perfumes
A blue cassette tape
a carnival stuffed ape
Things we keep
Things we reminisce
Things we'll never ever miss
Things that once made us ecstatic
Our valuables up in the attic
Categories:
tike, nostalgiaold, old,
Form:
Rhyme
The day was unbelievably hot to a northerner, just about normal for a Floridian. Disney World opened at nine and after a steamy night cruising Kissimmee’s strip for burgers, we were ready for the crush (and I don’t mean orange soda.) The Ex, the kid and I, clad in shorts and tank-tops, were ready to enter the park with the rest of the scrubbed and buffed hoard.
shoulder to shoulder
the crowd surges forward—
babies scream
At seven, our son, Jamie was mad about Pooh (of course at this point, he was so stoked he was just plain mad as the Hatter in Alice!) We got through the gates in record time and rushed to the line for honey pot carts to Pooh-land. The line wasn’t long, most of the crowd was rushing Space Mountain, but my son was thrilled to be greeted at the entrance by non-other than Mickey Mouse! Mickey grabbed the wiggling tike by his red suspenders (Yes, I had him wearing suspenders!) and boosted him into the cart and off we went. Mom, Dad and boyo in search of the infamous Bear, Tigger the Tiger and Christopher Robin.
*Form haibun
Categories:
tike, adventure, childhood,
Form:
Verse
I recall your pleasant disposition at my every single question
I recall the numerous nights you sat by my bed without an option
I remember the uncountable days you taught me to ride my bike
And the thousand different explanations you patiently told your tike
I still smile at the way you scolded me for arriving home late
The many times you waited hours for me around the front gate
I remember the time when I was in tears you wrote that song for me
And when I thought I could not live anymore, your reasons set me free
Your quirky laughter, your solid tears, your every single utterance
I love the way you always have a way of making me feel so nice
Daddy dear I dedicate this poem of mine to you
For all the many times for me you stood in the queue
For all the stories you told to me before you put out the light
And for all the waiting up for me on those so many a night
I still recall the many times you chastised me for my each err
At the time I thought you loved me not but now I know better
You still take the time to call even though I sometimes forget
You still make time for my little ones, into your heart you let
You always cared enough for me always lent a loving ear
Still each and every day, you are my daddy dear
Categories:
tike, dedicationme, time, me, time,
Form:
Sonnet
Biddity, bobbity, boo... this tune's hanging round in my psyche
A hit when I was a wee tike running around in my nightie
How old was I?
Allow me to clarify
The Second World War hadn't begun and Mickey Mouse was almighty
Categories:
tike, memory,
Form:
Limerick