The Birthday Wish Poem by Richard D Remler

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Marvin O'Hannigan Fillimigroo
Made his Birthday wish.
Oh, he would be the envy
Of all his friends
If he had but one Pineapple Fish.

He'd learned about them
In class at school,
And he was positive this time,
That he truly needed
That Pineapple Fish.
For he had long
Made up his mind.
'Oh, my friends will stomp
Their tobble toes.
They'll plop out
Like a China Rose
When they find I got my
Birthday Wish,
And finally have
A Pineapple Fish! '

But Marvin O'Hannigan Fillimigroo
Thought and thought and thought
This through.
He decided, after much ado,
He had no need of a fish.

He had Gold fishes
And Mold fishes
And some rather shy Bold fishes.
He had tropical fishes
Right up to galore!
He had fishes with fleas,
And a fish who could sneeze.
And he didn't really
Need any more!

Besides, Pineapple Fish
Grow very large -
Much larger than a whale!
But he'd be the envy of
All his friends
If he had a Racing Snail!
For Racing Snails are very rare!
And quick as a Wyck can be.
'Oh, if only I had a Racing Snail,
All of my friends would envy me.'

'They'd wave at me as I rode by!
They'd shoot their Sparklers in the sky!
They'd jump and shout and nod and say,
From very near and far away
'Young Marvin will have some tales to tell,
About his grand new Racing Snail! '

But one simple mystery so perplexed him.
There was a tiny little fear that vexed him.
'Suppose I take it outside to play,
And my Racing Snail just runs away?
Suppose it runs and runs so far
We can't catch up to it by car?
What if it races down a lane
We cannot reach by aeroplane?
What if it finds a Florida Key
And then it swims across the sea? '
He thought and let his thinker whirr,
He heard it tick-tack-tick and purr.
And when his brilliance chimed its Genius Bell.
He sighed, 'I do not need a Racing Snail.'

He said, 'Racing Snails. I mean, Marvin. Really!
Aren't they just a little silly?
Racing here, and racing there,
Like the prickles from a pumpkin pear.
Racing high, and racing low,
Until there's nowhere left to go.

Marvin tapped and tapped his pen
And let his thinker think.
He looked down at his clever list,
And all that green-green ink.
He bit his lip quite thoughtfully,
And blinked a knowing blink,
As deep, deep, deep, deep down inside
His mind echoed 'think think think! '

'I have the perfect Birthday Wish, '
He told nobody there.
'The finest sort of Birthday Wish
You'll ever want to share! '
Then he carefully jotted down a thought
He thought was rather fine,
The finest thoughtful thought young Marvin
Had upon his mind.
And, oh, this thought was ripe, you see?
With wild possibility!
It was the finest sort of thought there is,
And all because this thought was his.

'Oh, who needs monkeys? Who needs trains?
Who needs big old aeroplanes?
That sort of gift would just make me laugh.
But, Oh, if I had me a Giraffe,
I'd be a fair celebrity -
All of my friends would want to be
The kind of me they see,
And oh,
If I only had a Giraffe, they'd know
That Marvin O'Hannigan Fillimigroo
Knows he knows a thing or two! '

And with that, Marvin sighed a sigh
That tip-toed half way to the sky.
He shook his head
If only to free a few thoughts,
Thoughts so confined, they were tied up in knots.
Sly dotted Knots
All covered with spots,
Thoughts once held captive,
Collected and clear,
So many thoughts that they
Tickled his ear.
And he smiled so wide,
His right eye seemed to shine,
An amazing idea,
And it twitched at his mind.
'A Giraffe would be nice,
If he knows how to read.
If he gets along great
With my new Millipede.
If he doesn't burp loud,
Or chew on Mom's Parlor drapes,
And if he doesn't eat any
Of Grandma's Green Grapes.
Oh, but I'd be the most famous kid around.
I'd be the talk of the whole town.
All my friends would obble up and down
If I had a Hippillopottomus Bear! '

Marvin tapped at his noggin'
And breathed in the afternoon air.
'I'd be the envy of all
With my Hippillopottomus Bear!
They run a tight ship -
They drink Bobber's Root Beer.
And they hibernate six whole months
Out of the year.
They have their own toothbrush,
And they don't watch TV.
Why, that would be the perfect
Birthday present for me.'

'Hippillopottomus Bears like their trees.
And Hippillopottomus Bears like their bees,
And as sure as I can rightly see,
They love their chilled Cucumber Tea.
They like to growl. They like to roar.
They do not know what a chair is for.
But that won't stop them,
Because they don't care.
A Hippillopottomus Bear will
Sit most anywhere.
Yes, I'd be famous there and here.
And all of my good friends would cheer
Every time they saw me there
With my Hippillopottomus Bear.
They'd say, 'That Marvin
Sure has lots of pluck.
And he is sure one lucky duck.'
But then his eyes lost half their shine,
A disappointment came to mind,
And he whispered, 'But this is not
A Counting Mouse.
Mom would never let one in the house.
And I think I can well assume
Mom won't allow one in my room.'
And quiety he watched the sky,
As a sadness shimmered in his eye.
Clouds were gently drifting through
The gentle springtime sun he knew,
And though the day seemed somewhat glad,
Marvin felt a little sad,
As though he'd wished for something he knew he,
Chances are, would never see.

So, Marvin O'Hannigan Fillimigroo
Counted up to One Hundred
And Seventy-Two,
As he thought and he thought,
With a calm, centered mind,
For that one in a million
Gifts only great thinkers find.
After all,
Marvin was different.
He was his own man.
And he'd never do anything
That he did not plan.
And as a Great Thinker,
His Genius was fair.
So he wrote every one of his
Thoughtful plans there,
Scribbled them down
In his Plan-Planners Book,
And circled the Plans
That deserved a fresh look.
And right under Two-Hundred and
Sixteen
He noticed a something
That he'd written in green.

It read
Take a good look
At a Tozzle-Moffed Took.'
With a picture, or three,
And some gobbledygook
About clipping a feather
And clipping it right,
So your Tozzle-Moffed Took
Does not spring into flight,
And fly, fly away
To a much nicer place
And a much finer day.
But Marvin dismissed that
And shrugged at the thought.

I do not want to look
At a Tozzle-Moffed Took.
I do not want to hear them at all.
Oh, the things I have heard
About this crazy old bird
Could sicken a medicine ball.
They're roundy, they're smelly,
And just a touch yelley,
They snittle with every fine snoot.
They'll eat all your toothpaste,
And unscrew all the lights,
And they simply will not give a hoot.'

But something surprised him,
And he had to pause,
And he stared at the
Tozzle-Moffed picture, because
Somewhere in the heart of his memory, he
Knew what a great bird this odd Took ought to be.
'Eat toothpaste? ' he sighed,
And his mind fired hot.
'Some birds, oh, they may,
But my own Took will not.'
For he thought with the Mastery
Of the Thinker he was,
And then nodded and smiled
In his simple applause.

'I know what I want.
And it's fine as a wish can be.
For there isn't anyone who can see
The things I see.
The Pineapple Fish
Was a silly idea.
And a mere Racing Snail
From South-West Tanzania
Would just take up room,
And be no fun at play.
And I'm almost assured
It would just run away.

And that Hippillopottomus Bear
Mom will not let me keep.
It is a great Wish, of course.
But I'll not lose any sleep.
I'll keep that to myself,
And not whisper a word.
But, Oh, I'd be lucky,
I would,
If I had a bird
That can fly,
Really fly in the sky
Like a plane,
A bird that can fly
Just as high
As a Crane.
A bird that can flitter
And twitter and tweet
As loud as a silvery
Piccolo Pete!
Oh, I'd be the envy
Of all of my friends,
From North-East Peabody,
To where the road bends!
If I had a Tozzle-Moffed Took,
They'd all see
Nobody has a Tozzle-Moffed Took
Quite like me.

For they are rarer than rare,
And they're so hard to find,
They'll never, not ever,
See one quite like mine!
My friends will be so impressed
Of the Took that we found,
I'd be the most famous
Took owner around.
They'd wave and they'd cheer
Every time I went by.
They'd toggle their bobbles
High into the sky.
They'd trump all their trumpets,
And clap all their hands.
They hop just like rabbits
And shoot rubber bands!
They'd pat my shoulders
And I'd hear them all say,
'Marvin O'Hannigan Fillimigroo,
This is your day! '
And all would be fine,
All would be much, much, much,
Finer than fine.
My friends, they'd so envy
This fine life of mine.'

And he wondered, he did,
Hoping to find
An answer to questions
That now come to mind.
Like how high do they fly?
And how long is their beak?
Are their feathers the kind
That wiggle and squeak?
Do they coo? Do they caw?
Do they buzz like a saw?
Do they lay colored eggs,
Or are they tiny as flecks?
Or do they stare just to stare
As they twist up their necks?
Are they happy-type Tooks,
Or do they ever get mad?
Oh, I certainly hope
They don't smell really bad.

And he thought for a spell,
As he scratched at his head,
Reviewing every thoughtful
Thing he had read.
And as he let out a sigh
He chewed on his pen,
And reviewed every note
He had read once again.
What do they eat?
And where do they sleep?
What kind of cages
Will I have to keep?
This is beginning to sound
Like more work than play.
This is beginning to sound
Like I'll have no more say.
This is beginning to sound
Like I've made a mistake,
It is beginning to sound
Like a crummy headache.
Heck, I don't even know
How to feed a Tozzle-Moffed Took.
And I'm not even sure
I can stomach that look.
And he bit on his lip, then
Scratched at his head, and said,
'Maybe I should just ask for
A puppy instead? '

Copyright © MMXII Richard D. Remler


**A Children's Tale**