Poem: 'My Daddy Has A New Yellow Car'

I wrote this poem which is loosely based on the Michael Rosen poem, 'My brother's on the floor roaring'. His poem is about two brothers where one does not want to eat his dinner so in protestation, he flails about on the floor roaring. I read it to my class a few weeks ago and they loved it so I thought I'd come up with a poem about two sisters where one is on the 'floor roaring'. I came up with the subject matter based on my own yellow car that I bought last year and imagined what things may have been like at our house had I bought my yellow car when my two daughters were teenagers!

My Daddy has a new yellow car

And my big sister is on the ground bawling.

Why is my big sister on the ground bawling?

Well, my big sister is on the ground bawling because

Our daddy has just bought

A brand new yellow car....

...and she doesn’t like yellow cars!

So she’s on the ground bawling!

We said goodbye to ‘Rosie Red’

And as you can guess, Rosie was a red car

Fast, cool, classy; a convertible

Everything my big sister wanted in a car

‘But this yellow car,’ she moans

‘It is not very fast; it is certainly not cool,

It is far from being classy and it is not a convertible.’

...And that’s why my big sister is on the ground...bawling!

‘I hate it!!’ she screams

As she turns her head up at me.

To be honest, I actually prefer our old red car too

But unlike my big sister I will not and will never

Lower myself to being on the ground bawling!

‘What’s done is done, Bethany!’ I say

And in encouragement, as she would do for me,

I whisper...

‘Just think of all the other nice things that are yellow...

Like custard...(Bethany cringes!)

And bumble bees... (Bethany groans!)

 And sunflowers!’ (Bethany howls!)

My ‘help’ only makes matters worse

And she glues her face even firmer to the ground

Carrying on with her pathetic bawling!

Mum and Dad are not too impressed with her antics either

So like the good parents they are

They hop into the car and

Ignore her...

Yet she continues...

And continues...

And continues...

To curse Daddy’s new yellow car

While rolling around on the ground.. bawling!

‘Time for school girls, get in!’ Mum shouts

I join Mum and Dad in the car

 And slowly...

But surely...

My big sister stops rolling on the ground bawling

And slides ever so begrudgingly

Into the back seat beside me.

She slams the door shut

No muscles twitch as

I turn my eyes sideways toward my big sister...

And then...

...I see her!

Mascara run,

Hair a mess,

Bleary eyes,

Bottom lip almost touching her chin

I try to exert some self-control

But slowly...

And surely...

 I guffaw in short containable spurts

Until I cannot hold back anymore...

And I burst out laughing so much and so hard

 I start to cry...

...Hysterically!!!

And then there I am

Rolling on the backseat of Daddy's new yellow car
...bawling!!!