Ruth Walters (London, U.K.)

I had worries, worries had me,
so I packed ‘em up and stowed 'em away.
I kept the worries at bay, you might say.

The trouble was they bugged me,
they screamed and itched and tugged me!
So I put them in a box.

It was a deep, purple hat box.
Some days I'd forget about them,
but then I'd remember and peep inside.

The worries glared at me with their big pop eyes!
They laughed at me, taunted me,
they were wild.

They talked in my head all day and all night.
They were stalking me!
Something had to be done

I opened the box again, threw them in,
nailed the lid down, real tight,
sat on the box and sighed.

The worries cried for mercy one more time
and then, guess what…………?
They died.