THE TOY

Sitting in the bathtub

when I was a little boy,

I looked down and there I found,

a wondrous little toy.

It was my very own

I had no need to share.

That's what I discovered

while I was sitting there.

I jumped up a laughing

and ran my mom to show.

How could I have foreseen,

Mom would say, "I know."

The joy was still undaunted,

The excitement and the glee.

So what if it wasn't new

to anyone else but me.

I'll never forget the hours

I spent in childhood bliss

imagining that my toy

was really that or this.

Once it was a fire hose

spraying down the hall

and once it was a catchers mitt

complete with bat and ball.

Then as I grew older

my joy I did forget.

My toy might not have been there

for all I thought of it.

Then one day in school,

while I was telling what I knew.

to my very horror

--my toy--, it grew and grew!

I really was embarrassed.

I think I turned beet red.

I was sure everyone could see.

I wished that I was dead!

The girls were all laughing

and giggling like they do.

I thought -" I'll hold my breath

until my face turns blue."

But I continued to get older

I decided not to die.

and then as I got wiser

I understood just why.

The girls were really jealous

of the toy I had.

To think they didn't have one,

made me feel real bad.

My parents had always told me

for the less fortunate to care.

so I decided in my wisdom

my favorite toy I'd share.

And now that I have shared it

another thing I see.

I've found that in the sharing

the joy's returned to me.

And even though I've shared it

I'll never give it away.

For it is still mine to keep

until my dying day.

              ~David M. Smoak

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