About the word PLAY

Hi everyone,

As you know, the word of the month for January is PLAY. I posted my effort yesterday and it got me to thinking about any other poems I’ve written that has “play” in them. I’ve had 1,500 or so poems published and have many others in files, but I can only think of one poem that uses the word “play”. It was in a book published thirty-one years ago.

I’ve always considered my work as my way to play so maybe that’s why I have failed to dwell on the word. How about you? Do you make better use of “play” in your own work? Share examples if you want to, or give us a title so we can find your reference. Unless I’m forgetting other poems, here’s my one and only example.

They

I don’t know their names,
But They live in the grass,
And They’re only two inches tall,
And nobody knows where They came from
Or why They’re so terribly small.
They slip through the clover
And hide in the leaves
So you seldom can see them at all,
And nobody knows why They live there
Near the base of our garden wall.
They dance and parade
By the light of the moon
And visit with crickets all day,
And nobody knows how They got there
Or whether They’re planning to stay.
And maybe you’ll meet them,
And maybe you won’t,
If you come to my house to play,
‘Cause everyone wants to know who They are
But nobody knows but They. 

(c) 1994 David L. Harrison, from The Boy Who Counted Stars