By Annie Boochever
*Inspired by Jimmy Jet and His TV Set by Shel Silverstein
Disclaimer: I don’t really consider myself a poet but I have attempted poetry on numerous occasions and a few have been published. This poem is a part of a larger collection of Halloween poems for kids that I have been building on for several years.
Donald and His Video Game: A Cautionary Tale
He played in the morning ‘till school had begun,
and then in the evening when classes were done
Our Donald would pause between levels to eat,
and grab a few moments of restless sleep.
Homework and bathing just got in the way.
Do his laundry? Come on, Mom. There’s no time today!
His hair became sticky, matted and tangled.
His unwashed clothes were all rumpled and mangled.
On his molars a fuzz was beginning to grow.
But stop to brush them? Sorry, no.
His mother gave up with a cry of despair,
and even his friends began not to care.
All through the summer and into the fall
He did not bat a single ball
He did not fish or swim in the lake–
Get a life! Cried mother. For heaven’s sake!
It was Halloween night, in the dark and the gloom,
When Donald locked himself in his room.
To play the last level of the hardest game.
Tomorrow, he thought. They will all know my name.
Though Level 13 was almost won
Something creepy had just begun.
Happy he had solved the game at its source
He scarcely noticed the powerful force.
A force from the video screen not seen,
Pulled him in, no fight, no scream.
He traveled into the heart of the game
Where he kept on playing all the same.
From miles around the people came
To look at the boy in the video game.
All his friends were shocked to see
Donald displayed for eternity.
In time his mother got sick of the fuss,
From all the folks that were gawking thus.
She regretted her son’s untimely demise–
But maybe she could capitalize.
She thought of a scheme that was iron clad–
A way to reward the Olympiad.
A chance to gain poor Donald some fame,
Some money, and glory, and a little acclaim.
She ejected the game, Donald and all
Took it down to the store at the mall.
The rest is history, Donald’s a star.
The name of the game is “One Level Too Far!”