Sam

            by Rose Fadem-Johnston

 

Sam played all day and all afternoon, and didn’t mind the mess

Sam discovered caves in piles of shoes,

and braved a high sea of socks.

Sam bade a castle out of books,

and climbed a mountain that rose from the bed.

Sam played all day and all afternoon, and didn’t mind the mess.

Then the parents came, the parents came, and said to clean it up!

“There is nowhere to walk,” they cried.

“There is nowhere to stand, you can’t see the floor!”

So Sam cleaned, and cleaned, until the floors and shelves gleamed.

But them Sam dreamed.

By thinking very hard about a world without floors,

Sam changed things around,

 

 

 

And now in the world where things stood right side up,

everything was upside down!

On the ceiling Sam sat, next to the light and the mobile of planes.

Looking around Sam laughed and said,

“Now I don’t need a floor, the ceiling is far better,

So what if there’s no space down there, up here I have more!”

And over the airplanes Sam hopped, over the door top and under the tabletop.

To the kitchen.

Into the cupboard Sam dropped.

Inside Sam found the chips and the cookies.

The candies and the crackers.

And so at the packing Sam pulled,

tugging at the plastic and tearing at the wrapper.

But the chips and the cookies, the candies and the crackers,

all fell high below to the floor.

And Sam couldn’t reach.

 

 

 

On the fridge jumped the cat, colored all cream and peach.

She looked at Sam.

Sam looked at She.

And Sam moved off again.

Out of the kitchen came Sam, hopping over door tops and ducking under lights.

Below was the sofa where the quiet parents sat,

And to the window, which was just slightly cracked.

Outside was the moon with its sideways smile.

The stars were all out and about,

Above and below.

The ground was up high, but that sky hadn’t changed.

The air was clear and the stars were bright.

So out Sam jumped, into the night.

 

 

 

Towards the moon and over the stars,

Past the river of Milky Way bars.

Sam drifted, Sam floated, Sam twirled and flew.

Out into the dark and sparkly blue.

Sam rounded the moon and came right back!

Back to the earth and the ground.

Back to the things that were familiar and sound.

Things that had been turned downside up were no longer upside down.

The moon floated high, up above the trees and under the sky.

Houses stood straight up and Sam fell straight down.

 

 

 

Down through the starlight,

Down through the clouds.

Down through the window,

Down into bed.

Sam slept all through the night, and didn’t mind the light from the moon.

Sam know the morning and the messes were coming again soon.