Angels With Dirty Faces

I am in my office now
Looking at the
Photo montage
Of my grandsons
(Peyton and Samuel)
That my daughter
Adele
 Recently sent to me
As a keepsake

She gave the
Photo montage
A title
“Eating Is Messy Business!”
And the pictures
Show the boys
With food smeared
All over their faces
They are
“My little angels
With dirty faces!”

To me
The pictures are funny
Because my two
Tow headed boys
Are looking like a pair
Of circus clowns
With strawberry jam
Smeared all over
Their smiling punims

During a recent visit
To Charlotte NC
I sat next to the boys
As they dined
On various foods
For breakfast and
Lunch and dinner

And at every meal
The food was
Flying off
In every direction
As if who could throw
The most food
Would be the winner!

It is not recommended
To sit too close by
This pair if you
Are wearing your
Best clothes or
Anything
That cannot be
Dry cleaned

But if you can’t
Make a colossal mess
When you are aged
Two and four
When else will you
Get the chance
To act out your inner
Bruce Springsteen?

Whenever I need a lift
In my mood
As my energy levels
Wane and plummet
In the course of the
Work day
All I have to do
To lift my
Flagging spirits
Is to turn my head
To see the pictures
Of my two
Special  boys
In their hey day

Smiling and laughing
“My angels with dirty faces”
As they are going
Through their paces
And instantly I can feel
A smile
(My smile!)
As it slowly
Creeps across my
Puss’ crevices

I hope this will
Always be the case
(As the boys continue
To grow
And as they become
Cultured and
Civilized and
Learn to eat
Like the proper
Little gentlemen
That they are sure to be)

Because to
Tell the truth
It ain’t much fun
To be
All on my own
With no one else
To play
“Let’s be a barbarian!”
With me
Or without me!

jhmarkowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2011