The Ballad of the Wasps
[Coraline]
At the dump near our flat
Our old flat, one Sunday
I went out exploring with my Dad
There were mountains of that
Stuff that gets tossed away
When people don't know what they've had
Broken chairs, old appli-
Ances, dishes, debris
Were taking their naps in the Sun-
Day sun. Suddenly I
Felt a jab in my knee
And Dad shouted, Coraline! run!
Wasps! thousands of wasps filled the air
I high-tailed it over the hill
Dad? Dad, silly Dad, stayed there
Standing, perfectly, still
Getting stung, what would prove
To be thirty-two stings
We counted that night in the bath
Giving me time to move
Far away from the things
While Dad took the brunt of their wrath
Wasps! millions of wasps filled the air
But they didn't scare him until
The next day when we had to go back over there
His glasses had dropped on the hill
He said he wasn't brave
For he wasn't afraid
While watching me running away
He knew he had to save
Me, his choice had been made
He'd only been brave the next day
