Pop
If a fairy should come from Babyland
With a smile on his face and a wand in his hand,
And say to me in his merry way,
“I wish to hear what you have to say
’Bout being born all over again—
Exactly where and exactly when
And just what kind of a feller you’d like
To have for your dad on this earthly hike,”
I’d look at him and try to be
As nonchalant and gay as he,
And then I’d say, “If I must be
Born again, it seems to me,
It doesn’t matter much just where or when
(For what’s a baby now and then?)
But there’s one thing I must request
So will you do your level best
And kindly see that I shall drop
Into the self-same arms of the self-same Pop?
For, take it from me, he’s the very best dad
That any baby’s ever had!”
Source: Father: An Anthology of Verse (EP Dutton & Company, 1931)