It's Spring
And all the World is Mud!

Luscious, delicious, marvelous mud
Slippery, slurpery,
Chocolatey syrupy,
Pieish and puddingish,
Squishery, wishery,
Mud in a dishery,
Mud lies all waiting.
First mud pies, then mud flies!
Mud cries for kids.
Muddlesome, puddlesome
Frolicsome, rollicksome
Lollipy, glollipy
Sliding, abiding
Mud!
I can sing into
fling into
gush into
rush into
push into
slush into
flop into
plop into
dance into
prance into
bounce into
flounce into
pounce into
sail into
flail into
hike into
bike into
glide into
slide into
Mud!
Glorious mud,
Uproarious mud
for
Laughing and rolling and splashing and throwing
'Till I'm covered and smothered
And caking and flaking
And crumbly and breaking
And slimy and grimy...

Oh it's grand to be muddy
When Spring's in the air.
It is fine to be muddy
When Spring's in the air!

Elizabeth Steen 3/22/86

MR. SHARK

A shark is living
In our bed
He has no fins
But legs instead

His hide’s not rough
But rather furry
To look at him
You would not worry

The sharky part
Is shiny teeth
They’re sharp above
And sharp beneath

And when he clamps
Them on your arm
You feel that they
Could do some harm

“No Shark!” we cry
“No Bite!” we say
He says “It’s just
The way I play”

So if I’m earless
When I rise
It was a shark,
But in disguise

Whenever we
Feel eaten up
We know that it’s
Just Pip the pup

E. Steen
10/03

“Grammy!” Ben yelled as he bolted out the door and across the driveway.
“Benjamin!” I cried, and we met in a big hug.
“Ya know what,” he said, “I’m on my mom’s team. I helped her with the stalls.”
“That’s great,” I said. “I’m sure you were a big help.”
“And ya know what? I only got one foot wet when I stepped in the puddle by the barn door.
“I’m so glad,” I smiled, “and I’ll bet your mom was glad, too.”
“She was.”
“How’s Hidalgo?” I asked as we walked toward the barn. “Did you ride while we were in Cincinnati?”
“Ya know what? We went on a trail ride! And ya know what? The people came and got Skye so now Hidalgo is in Skye’s stall and Granddad can have Hidalgo’s stall back for his wood! And you know what? I helped put some wood in there already!”
“Granddad will be very pleased,” I said.
“Ya know what?” Ben said, jumping off the stairs that led to the loft. “Hidalgo got out and was trying to get in the grain!”
“Oh no! How did he do that?”
“He went UNDER the chain!”
“What a clever pony!” I said.
“Ya know what? THEN he walked out of the pasture by himself and we had to use a can of grain to get him back in.”
“I’m really glad you got him back. And do you know what, Benjamin? I’m very happy to be home because I missed you a lot.”
“Ya know what, Grammy?”
“What, Ben?”
“I love you, Grammy!”

E. Steen
November 2005