My granddaughter, Ella, who is three and a half years old, has strongly held views on many things, including animals. This poem riffs on thoughts she’s recently shared with me about deer, spiders, and dogs.

But some deer do eat lollipops, she said,

And I, a sucker for uncertain walls,

Can’t disagree, for speaking cryptically,

Reality’s an arty lie withal.

***

She also told me spiders aren’t real,

Good news for all arachnophobes – your fear

Has not a leg (or eight) to stand upon

(Alas the plethora of eyes still peer.)

***

Dogs don’t have hands so they can’t open doors, she said,

Giving me pause with her suitable choice of a

Dactylic form as the manual dictates; her

Pop Pop learns so much from talking with Ella!