Walking along the lake one day
In the merry month of May
We came upon a thorny branch.
In the breeze a lonely shoe danced.
Now, who’s little shoe are you?
Why are you there, so lonely & blue?
Probably left by a walker passing by.
Is its owner letting out a mournful cry?
Cinderella must have a foot so bare.
Will she get her shoe, does she care?
Will her prince charming find her?
I bet she has one, that’s for sure.
Because I spy a man who is in a search
Slowly he walks, not seeing the shoe perched.
Knowing it must be, can only be a Dad
Who carries a toddler, a lass, not a lad.
With one foot bare, she does cry out.
“Up in the tree. There," I shout!
The little girl reaches for her shoe.
Prince Dad puts it on, she is no longer blue.
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There was truly an undeniable reason
why several times throughout the season,
and each and every single day of late,
Toothbrushes on any shelf met the same fate.
They would disappear!
Store owners throughout the entire valley
wondered just who the thief was, they had a rally!
They decided, toothbrushes must have a lock,
all except one. The staff would be there to block
Before the culprit disappeared!
It was a struggle though, customers wanted to pay
for the one toothbrush where there wasn’t a delay.
Where was this mysterious toothbrush taker?
Did they find a better toothbrush merchant or maker?
Why had the thief disappeared?
A man came in one day amongst a crowd.
He left the group, who were obnoxious and loud.
A pretty clerk walked by him and he flashed a smile,
with teeth as white as a heavenly mile.
The clerk’s guard was down, it disappeared!
The same sales clerk whose name was Molly,
chastised herself for her carelessness and folly.
To be captivated by a single captivating grin?
The oral care product vanished, it was a true sin!
Molly had to find the man who disappeared.
Molly decided to set another trap.
She unlocked the plastic locking cap.
Waited, waited for the toothy man.
She would catch him, she had a plan!
She wouldn’t let him disappear!
She didn’t wait very long, just awhile,
before the conniver slinked up the aisle.
He smiled when he saw the broken locking cap,
snatched it up in his pocket, the thieving chap!
Molly blocked him, before he disappeared.
Apprehended, it was Tobias, a young man
Who didn’t mean to put on a scam, and go on the lamb.
Tobias Toothaker was the twenty-first of that name
All of his ancestor’s teeth rotted, would he be the same?
He did not want his teeth to disappear!
Tobias wanted to save his pearly whites
For girls who earlier told him to fly a kite!
He wanted to be handsome, but was broke.
So, he stole toothbrushes, no, it wasn’t a joke.
Molly’s attraction did not disappear.
She bought the toothbrush for him
And he gave the whitest ever grin.
The two became one and a family they had
of smiling children of a clerk and a cad.
Their love, never, ever, disappeared!
I locked them in the basement. Despite that, I could hear them laughing. Laughing at me!
They didn’t believe that sweet little me could be serious. I always cowered under the radiance of their perfection. They did everything correct, they looked immaculate. Spoke eloquently with perfect oration. I strived to be like them, worked hard at it.
They were quick to pick out my imperfections. Laugh at my stuttering when I talked to them. Noticed each and every little stain or tear on my clothing.
If I had something between my teeth, they would be sure to mention it and tell me in front of anyone who could hear, “’Oh, by the way dear, do get yourself a mint. Your breath, you know.’”
Am I untidy and unkempt? No, I shower every day, sometimes twice, wash my hair every other day, brush and floss my teeth three times a day. My clothes are always clean. Some are old though, I don’t have a lot of money (another strike against me).
My step sisters have never accepted me, my whole life. They have gotten what they wanted, when they wanted it. Their mother made sure of that.
Things have changed though. My stepmother was caught with another man by my father. She married Dad because, although he had little money, he was the Lord of Underlane. She was bourgeois, and wanted a title. Her money came from her father’s hard work, definitely NOT her own. It didn’t take her long to use up her inheritance after he died.
Back to what is going on now, I called my father and told him I needed him, that my step-sisters were hurting me again.
When he got home he found my step-mother with her lover. She thought I was too stupid to know about it. Always ignored me, well, she is now off drinking at the local bar, trying to figure out how to win my father back. It’s too late.
I have talked him into leaving the country. I am meeting him at the airport. He’s grief stricken, but I have convinced him he is better off without his adulterous wife.
I locked my step sister’s in the basement, not sure when or if my stepmother will make it home, especially since I have her house key. I made sure she had her car keys. I hope she gets very drunk for her drive home.
I walked out. I locked the door behind me.
There is no laughter anymore. Only screams!
Ashwini Chaudhary on Unsplash
and Debbie Angelosanto