Nothing to Do

There are dishes in the sink

And they're begging to be washed,

There's the mess to be cleaned up 

From that banana you just squashed.

Come with me for a minute,

Let me show you to your room,

It is gasping for a visit 

From the dustpan and the broom.

It appears that all your bedclothes 

Have been fighting with your bed,

And that plate of old spaghetti

I am sure has long been dead.

There's a curtain of old cobwebs

Stretched across your bedroom wall,

And muddy wellies do not add

To the decor in the hall.

Did you say that you've gone out

And got yourself a maid?

Then who is going to clear up 

That spilt cake and orangeade?

Come along, I'll introduce you

To someone you ought to meet,

This is Lady Vacuum Cleaner,

She makes homes tidy and neat.

So you've finished all your homework

And packed your school bag, I suppose?

There are a million things to do

Right underneath your nose.

I wonder why Mum

Has to get in such a stew

When I tell her that I'm bored 

And there's nothing here to do.

© Valerie Bloom, from Stars With Flaming Tails, Otter Barry Books 2021