Toy Jungle
Silence, then slow movement
Where is my child?
Look out across the wide expanse of the room.
My child is camouflaged amid
balls, rubber, plastic, frogs, people, cars, electric lights, talking animals
Don’t hide from me,
Actually that’s easy to do
Aren’t you ready for a diaper change?
Silence in the jungle again.
He hides, not actually on purpose
Like an invisible child
A movement,
a ghost on the other side of the room.
There you are.
His cover is blown
Behind the stuffed animals.
I reach for him, nothing
He is on the move
I am the hunter now.
Silence again.
Then every toy talks at once
As if they know to give a decoy for the one I am after.
Then his place is given away as the lone purple animal
in the corner starts to talk. He pushes the hand or foot,
he would rather play with those things that help him hide.
As he hugs the animal,
I reach in for him.
The diaper can be changed now.
He can eat now.
8/10/03
Doug Logan