Soul Not Included

Abby was a little girl with many dolls. Carol was a little girl with one. Abby's dolls resided in a dusty crate. Carol's posed to face the morning sun. Abby's dolls were silent, clad in rumpled rags. Carol's wore a sky blue gown of silk. Abby's dolls had never eaten anything. Carol's dined each day on bread and milk. Carol thought that Abby was a rich girl With galaxies of dollies in a box, But Abby's dolls were nameless and as secretive About themselves as underwater rocks. Abby's dolls could wiggle, dance and say, "MaMa", Mechanically their plastic bodies sped, But when their time was up, they laid as still as                                    stones - Their tinny voices still, their batteries dead. Carol's only doll had neither dance nor cry, No function under power-pack control. More special was she, magical, mysterious, For Carol's doll possessed a dolly soul. -A soul that seemed to whisper in the darkest nights, "I love you", underneath the counterpane, And shined from eyes as bright as butterflies, And dimmed when Carol cried, as if in pain. Yes, Abby was a little girl with many dolls That needed batteries, their deeds to drive, But Carol was a little girl with only one, Who needed merely love to come alive. Written December 26th, 2001 © on Jan 08 2002 03:39 PM PST, Carole Dudley   0 • 10