Poetry for Parents, Volume 2

A second installment of verse for those of us with children between the ages of 13 and finally moved out. This is dedicated to all the parents who don't have self-washing dishes.

The Dish Elves

So many dirty dishes
Piled high in the sink
But not a teen could be found
Who was able to think

Is there something that we should
Do with these things?
Why are these still here?
What do these things mean?

These dishes are nasty!
Why aren’t they clean?
Where are the dish elves?
Where can those elves be?

Now who’ll wash the dishes?
What will we do?
Why are they still dirty?
Please give us a clue!

Here’s an idea:
Let’s search for those elves
Otherwise we must do
All these dishes ourselves

Let’s look on the TV
For an hour or two
Or perhaps a few more
Since there’s nothing to do

Now on the computer
We’ll check email to see
If there’s a message from “dish elves”
Telling where they would be

Cell phones are useful
We can text all our friends
To see if someone has
A dish elf to lend

The day is now over
Dirty dishes remain
We searched for the dish elves
But our search was in vain.

We’ve learned that these dishes
Won’t wash themselves
We must wash our own dishes
Without dirty dish elves

Memo: The Dish Elves have left the building. Please take care of your own messes.