Kittens For Carl

Kittens for Carl, dogs for Dan,
Fish for Beth, and frogs for Fran.
Simple times and simple ways
To pass starred nights and idle days.

99 bottles of beer on the bus,
Songs of ants and coconuts,
Climbing around the jungle-jim
To laugh with friends and play at whim.

Throwing snowballs at your foes
Stepping on big bully's toes.
Making noise to gather laughs
Infuriate the kitchen staffs.

Snakes and sharks and dinosaurs,
Silly art and petty chores,
Dreaming, sketching fantasy
Na-na, na-na, can't catch me.

Far-out tales of heroes bold,
Vanquished monsters, hoards of gold.
Saucers bearing alien wrath,
Big bad wolf besets the path.

But time goes by and through the years
There come new doubts and growing fears.
Friends blow away on winds of Fate,
Death and desire; the trial awaits.

Liquor for Carl, switchblades for Dan.
Crack for Beth, and death for Fran.
Gone are those younger more idle ways,
For tougher times and darker days.

George Chadderdon © 1991