A day in the life of Lilian

[Ilya Shambat]

A day in the life of Lilian
Is by most standards good:
She stands in her cot quite meekly
Until it is time for food -

With finger in side of her mouth
She yodels, "wa wa wa wa wa"
And then banging on her playpen,
"Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma"

And as I begin conversation
With her, "La la la la la,"
She looks at me intently
And screams, "BWA BWA BWA BWA BWA" -

How dare you not give me food now?
I am the queen of the house
And if you do not put this muesli
Right now in my mouth

I will raise such a howl
That you will take to your grave
So give it to me, right now,
Give it to me, you slave!

She happily laughs while I kiss her,
Then joyfully smacks my face -
What are you doing, mister?
Must I use my can of mace?

And then she is laughing at me
Her diaper and pants, on the rug -
Dad, why are you unhappy?
It's me, come give me a hug!

With a mouth full of fingers -
Other hand clutching a doll -
She is the charming princess
Of our little world -

The children all love this creature
With her big radiant eyes
With soft, delightful features
And open, teething smiles -

They cuddle and hold and kiss her
This teddy bear come alive
And people cannot resist her -
So how can I and my wife?

We feed her, clothe her, change her,
Kiss her, hug her, give her toys
Keep her from harm and danger -
And then in the sweetest voice

She speaks the word "Dada"
To a girl who tells her hello
And people are laughing out loud:
That's not your dad, don't you know?

I hold her in front of mirror
She laughs back at what she sees:
The face that reflects back at her
Lit up by infectious bliss.

She loves being bathed in water
And drinks milk from mother's breast
And yet she is daddy's daughter
And loathes to get dressed -

And then she is all her own:
The queen of all time and space -
And only eleven months old -
Why, if at such a pace

Exceeding great people and royals
One day she will be divine
And make even better worlds
For people to reside in!

More feeding, cuddling, adoring
And then her eyes have grown shut
Until the following morning -
The queen is asleep. All be quiet.

Ilya Shambat
https://sites.google.com/site/ibshambatpoetry