“Big & Little,” read by Pat Severin.
Big & Little
by Pat Severin
I had a house when I was small,
a little girl of five.
That house was something quite unique,
a taller house than wide —
a house for Mother Goose and me,
like in the fairy tales.
You’d have to search both far and wide,
across both hills and dales …
to find a house as rare as this,
the envy of the block.
Because the doorbell always sticks,
my friends all had to knock.
My window seat was to the right —
That’s where I’d sit for hours
watching birds and butterflies
flitting through Mom’s flowers.
If you kept going through my house,
my living room was next,
with curvy corners, never square,
a perfect place to rest.
You’d go into my kitchen next
where you could take a seat.
You’d see how awfully big it was
and Mom would fix a treat.
My bedroom had a starry sky.
Beneath it were some cracks,
so Mom put up some wallpaper.
It’s where I’d take my naps.
And I’d pretend I was outside
asleep beneath the stars,
and make believe that I could see
the moon and sometimes Mars.
It sure was nice to tell you of
my beautiful, big house.
It was so huge I sometimes I felt
as little as a mouse.
And then one day, when I grew-up
I saw my favorite house.
Though I expected changes there,
I hadn’t any doubts …
that I would see a great, big house
that held a magic spell,
but when I saw my house that day
my childhood heart just fell!
You see, the house that I saw then
was such a tiny place!
My memories had all been huge,
yet this house lacked some space!
My childhood house of long ago
was tiny, not as grand
as I remembered it had been.
But on the other hand …
the truth is that some memories
are summed up in this riddle:
What changes size but stays the same?
Things seem big when you’re little!
About the Poet
Pat Severin, a retired Christian teacher, is also published in such Christian magazines as the Agape Review, the Clay Jar Review, The Way Back to Ourselves, Heart of Flesh, Vessels of Light, and Words of the Lamb. She is regularly featured in the SAP Anthologies and has contributed to three books.
Next (Poem: Poem by Mom for Her Son Who Loves Bollywood Music) >
< Previous (Poem: The Hobby Horse)
Image is an AI-generated image created through Freepik. Public domain.
