The Big Mistake

MAGPIE TALES
http://magpietales.blogspot.com.au/
supplied the prompt

THE BIG MISTAKE

'Be careful what you wish for'

How often I've heard that said!

And it's only now the meaning

Has penetrated my head.

For I wished to be an eagle;

I wished to roam the skies;

I wished to rule the mountain-tops

And to fly as an eagle flies.

I dreamed of riding the currents

And of being completely free.

I was ready to ditch the earthbound clod

That represented me.

And so my wish was granted!

I swooped on high all day.

I saw the world beneath my wings;

In a totally different way.

I was Lord of all Creation,

I was greatest of all birds;

My joy and exhilaration

Exceeded human words.

But then, as the sun was setting,

I began to yearn for bed,

Not, at first, realising,

That I'd have a nest instead!

So here I seek for comfort

In a very limited space;

A night squashed in these prickly bits

Is more than I can face!

No more stupid wishes for me!

I just can't stand the strain!

'Be careful what you wish for'

Is ringing in my brain.

*

-----------------------------------------------------

FRIENDS

(A Poem for Children)

Dinna cry, Shep! I love you too.

Both of you have jobs to do.

Fergus can carry me on his back

All along the heather track.

Fergus is big and he is wise;

He looks at me with his great big eyes.

Fergus's mane is very thick;

And when he gallops he's very quick.

I give him carrots and stroke his nose.

And where I'm going Fergus goes.

But he can't round-up the silly sheep,

Or catch a ball with a great big leap.

And he can't lie in front of the fire

And watch the winter flames burn higher.

And he can't lay his head on my knee

Or run and fetch a stick for me.

He can't curl up on my bed

When I have an aching head.

And Shep, you know that, in the end,

A dog, not a horse, is man's best friend.

Dinna cry, Shep! I love you too.

Both of you have jobs to do.

*