King Toodles


Long a time,
When I was little
My Dad used to tell me about King Toodles
He lived in a tree house just down on yonder
And smelt like an arse that was lit with fire.

I often went in search for this King
Who never seemed to grace me or heed me
Still I overturned the smallest of pebbles
And combed the forest before the sun mellowed
I shouted his name and offered my services
But still that stubborn old fool chose to stay hidden
And remain forevermore a complete mystery.

I always went back to my dad empty handed
With a sulky tear-stained face not so well hidden
It was only when my Mother died and Dad stopped caring
That I finally gave up trying.

Even after his death
I still hear his stories
One way or the other
I guess it’s because I long so much to be once again a part of his memory
That I hopped on my old rusty red bike
And took off in search of an answer

I peddled down that old muddy bank
On roads that run so soft and green
Alongside the many lakes of memories
That only my eyes retrieved.

I quickened my pace on long-forgotten tyres
And challenged time in the surroundings of nature
‘Old wheels keep on turning’ my dad once said
Just like the hands of time they turn
But it is alas these winds of change
Especially one - that he so longed to burn.

This bike is old of course I know
It is after all slightly younger than me
It squeaks in protest against my desires
And anchors me down with all its material ‘dysires’

Like a leaf caught in a summer breeze
I head on down unknowingly
Along paths I took many times before
To places I knew lived forevermore

O Sir King Toodles
Oh where could you be?
Please tell my Father
I long to see him
This trip down memory lane is not working for me
I am as lost in this forest
As you’ve always wished me to be

I talk to myself for a good three hours
Before I realized I used up all my powers.
I embodied myself in a grain of time
Where my Dad used to be
He sat on his throne in his castle
And I hero-worshipped him
King of the household I used to say
And Mother would agree
He ruled as justly as he loved unquestioningly
As my Mother and I to him

It was then I realized how stupid I was
To search so hard for something I never lost.
I searched for a King who lived in a forest
Whilst the one King I should have been looking for
Is with me no longer.




Jessica
08:23
2 April 2007