Whenever we have dinner
At the home of my Aunt Mabel,
I must be extra careful
And polite while at the table.
Aunt Mabel is quite sensitive
To any sign of crudeness,
And I never can predict what words
Offend her with their rudeness.
She asks me what I’m learning
And expects me to reply.
I try to answer safely,
But things often go awry.
One year it was the alphabet.
What problems could there be?
Aunt Mabel lost her temper
When I said the letter P.
Aunt Mabel started choking
Upon a piece of onion
When I said my class had read
The tall tale of Paul Bunyan.
One year we got into a fight.
She said that I began it,
Because I said uranus
While listing off each planet.
You doubt she is that sensitive?
I promise you that it’s true.
Last year she nearly sent me home
When I said the word shampoo.
© 2014 Karyn Linnell