This childhood mischief poem was written as a lighthearted reflection on imagination, rivalry, and the dramatic way children respond to small injustices.

He took my book

The little crook

How dare he

Trip me

Mock me

His behavior shocks me

He took my book

That little crook

He’ll be sorry when I find him

Because I’ll have to remind him

By giving him a kick in the shin

He took my book

That little crook

And I know just where to find him

©  Jennifer David 2013

This poem is just one small piece of a much larger body of work.

Over on Closer Lives, Leon and I share poetry written across seasons of life — love, grief, humour, childhood, travel, transformation, and the in-between moments that don’t always have language.

Poetry is how we found each other, how we process the world, and how many of our deeper…