not most boys

When I was young and first had toys
I was as messy as most boys
My mom said, “Monkeys run this zoo!”
Such as most boys will often do

But I decided one fine day
That I would clean the mess away
And work to put up all my toys
Because you see… I’m not most boys

And so I vacuumed all the dirt
I wiped the drool all off my shirt
I put away and organized
I lost some weight and exercised

I hung on hooks all of my hats
I brushed the dog and waxed the cats
I ate my food and drank my drink
I scrubbed the toilet, then the sink

I hanging-folder-filed my legos
Put my sister’s things where they go
I hung my pictures on the wall
And then returned all of my calls

I painted all my paint-by-numbers
Made my bed, prepared for slumber
Created order out of chaos
And even put away my crayons

For every sock I found its pair
Then washed all of my underwear
I ironed and I folded clothes
Put all my rubber ducks in rows

I made more lists of what to do
I shined my socks and washed my shoes
All my swords I put in sheaths
Then filed my nails and flossed my teeths

I trimmed my hair and made it shorter
Arranged my deck of cards in order
Sanitized and sprayed Febreeze
I fogged the house to kill the fleas

For all my pigs I built a sty
Then cleaned that up, oh me, oh my!

And after all was said and done
My mom said, “Go, and have some fun!”
But fun for me is cleaning toys
As you can see, I’m not most boys.

by scott sullivan, ©2010