Typewriter Rodeo: A Toddler’s Nightmares

Each week, the Standard reaches out to Austin’s Typewriter Rodeo for a custom poem on Texas topics.

By Sean PetrieOctober 21, 2022 11:25 am, ,

Bath time, teeth brushing, stories, songs. The little one seems all settled — and then — a scream, a call, a cry. What could possibly be the matter? That was the inspiration of this Typewriter Rodeo poem.

A Toddler’s Nightmares

It’s a wonder what
The darkness brings
In the dead of night
All the scary things!

That robot you loved
In the light of day
Now — no no NO!
Make it go away!

That T-Rex who made you
Scream with delight
Now they are just
Pure screams of fright!

It’s weird how they change
When you’re on your own
How things are so different
When you’re tired, and alone

And hey it happens
To us adults, too
Things that seem fine in the daytime
In the dark, make us blue
Perhaps the trick is knowing
That you’ll get through the night
That everything will be better
In the right
light.

a photo of the typewritten poem on a torn half-sheet of paper

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