The Boy and His Leech
A boy sat down right on the beach
feet dipping in the lake.
The sun was shining up above,
a great day it would make.
The cheerful boy was wading ‘round,
as happy as can be.
Until he felt a painful pinch,
a slight nip at his feet.
The boy had not a panic yet,
no worry in his mind.
The sand was full of many rocks,
and sometimes sticks you find.
The boy walked back onto the shore,
and rapped a towel ‘round.
He sat down in a wooden chair,
the first one he had found.
A numbing in his toe he felt,
attention swiftly caught.
He turned his foot and looked right down,
a mad scream he had fought.
A leech was curled around his toe,
a creature of great horror.
His cousins gathered round the boy,
to see the worm of lore.
The cousins ran into the house,
the salt they had to find.
They searched the cabinets through and through,
the leech they had to blind.
They found the salt and raced right out,
then poured it on the leech.
The jet black worm had shriveled up,
the toe it could not reach.
A spur of blood came from his toe,
the leech had burrowed in.
The young boy saw with fearful eyes,
a hole where leech had been.
The bleeding toe had stopped quite soon,
the hole began to heal.
The boy took vow he’d never swim,
where leeches had their meal.
The next day came and sun was out,
the water still was warm.
The boy jumped off the diving board,
his promise was forlorn.
Copyright © Lyda Louis | Year Posted 2019
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