What do you do when you want to be bad?
Do you pull the cat's tail till he screams in pain,
Or sneak outside to play in the rain?
Throw your food under the table for the dog,
Slurp your milk and make noises like a hog?
Hide all the toys from your sister or brother,
Tell a big hairy lie to your father or mother?
What do you do when you want to be bad?
Make faces at your mother behind her back,
Walk by your sister and hit her-SMACK!
Go straight to bed without brushing your teeth,
Wash the tops of your hands but not underneath?
Make fun of Leroy cuz his skin's black in color,
Or tease Sue Lin cuz her skin's slightly yeller?
What do you do when you want to be bad?
Pull the dog's fur and make him bark,
Or sneak outside when it's way past dark?
Talk about friends when they're not around,
Or act real tough and push them to the ground?
Make fun of the wrinkles on Grandma's face,
Ask Grandpa to run with you in a race?
What do you do when you want to be bad?
Throw rocks at the kids who live next door?
STOP RIGHT THERE! Don't think of anymore!
There's plenty to do if you want to be bad,
And 'bad's' so easy to be,
But 'good' can be just as much fun
And it's just as easy-you'll see!
What can you do when you want to be good?
You can rub the cat's ears instead of pulling his tail,
Play games inside safe from wind, rain and hail.
You can eat your own food without feeding the hound,
Then empty your glass without making a sound.
You can share all you have with family and friends,
Always tell the truth from beginning to end.
What can you do when you want to be good?
Make faces in the mirror but don't make it crack,
Give your sister a hug-then get one back.
Brush every tooth before going to bed,
Scrub both of your hands, then do your head.
Love everyone whether yellow, black or blue,
Not just the kids who look like you.
What can you do when you want to be good?
Brush your old hound, then hug him real tight,
Stay in the house where it's light when it's night.
Don't talk about friends unless they can hear,
Then when they're gone you'll have nothing to fear.
Tell Grandma she's pretty for being so old,
Give Grandpa your hand so he'll have something to hold.
What can you do when you want to be good?
Play games with the kids who live next door.
STOP RIGHT THERE! Don't think of anymore!
There's plenty to pick from both bad and good,
Now the choice is up to you.
There's more of the one but the other's more fun,
What do you think you should do?
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! TRUST JESUS NOW
Read more articles by Bill Shurkey or search for articles on the same topic or others.
Bill,
You did a great job revising - the only thing I might change is during the "good" part, you mention "brushing' your teeth and "brushing" the dog. I might say "gently pet" or "pet" the dog instead of "brush".
Otherwise, it reads much better. God bless you in your pursuit to find a home for this book!
Blessings! Lynda Schab
my first thought on reading your poem was how old is this fellow? I looked up your profile, fatherhood explaines the child's eye view, your kids were verry blessed to have a father who can understand them so well.
This was cute. I would not suggest telling grandmother she looks pretty "for being so old" ;)j/k lol I think this would make a good children's book.
Roz
