The Wizard of Did!

I have a man with a pointy hat

Lives under my desktop lid,

He came for muffins and jam, and that,

I call the Wizard of Did,

His beard got caught when the lid came down

So I had to trim it back,

But he says it’s comfy and warm in there

So he’s turned it into a flat.

 

I thought at first I would charge him rent

But he wasn’t too keen on that,

So I suggested a garden tent

And he said he’d pass the hat.

I’d try to type in the early hours

But he’d bang up under the lid,

‘How can I get my beauty sleep,’

He said, the Wizard of Did.

 

‘You’re going to have to pay your way,’

I said, ‘It’s not for free,

‘You’d better come up with something good

That’s of some use to me.’

‘You say you struggle for plots,’ he said,

‘Well I can help with those,

‘I’m full of people I want to be,

I just need different clothes.’

 

The Wizard was as good as his word

He’d pop up now and then,

Whenever I’d sit and scratch my head

He’d mention Holy men,

Then march along the top of the desk

With mitre, staff and cross,

And make me kiss the pontiff’s ring

On the eve of Pentecost.

 

He’d play the role of a murderer,

He’d play the role of a clown,

He’d play an old sheep herder-er

With a crook in a shepherd’s gown,

He’d pop up with a pirate’s patch

And tinkle pieces of eight,

Or keep me longing for Molly Brown

When my ship came in too late.

 

Whenever I sat there at a loss

For a line, a rhyme, a verse,

He’d throw a bag on the table top

And say, ‘Now pick a curse!’

He’d turn mine into a haunted house

And he’d stalk me in the gloom,

And have me making a pact with Faust

In a dark and lonely tomb.

 

And now when I think my muse has gone

That my stories have been spent,

I tap-tap-tap on the table top

And he says, ‘You must repent!

I’m not a bottomless pit, you know,’

Climbs in, and closes the lid,

I say, ‘You promised a constant flow,’

And he groans, ‘I know… I Did!’

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Barbz]

We all have a little wizard that lives beneath our lid. Times we called them "our friend", when we were just a kid. Sometime we call upon them, a little inspiration? Other times we think they're our imagination. Even though we house them, underneath our lid, we sigh, when the well is dry, there's nothing that he did....Nothing that I did, said he, you know that when you slept. Under lid you'll always find the promise that I kept......

[Sindu]

Felt like I was by the side of Alice or listening to Rumpelstiltskin. Beautiful threads of imagination. My wizard is MIA right now so I really enjoyed this. Herder-er... nice :)

[Avinash]

This is a fascinating tale of friendship with an entity of your surrounding. It reminded me of Calvin and Hobbes. There are many things which make your world and they define who you are.

[R Smith]

well done David but i think you just gave away your source of all these poems lol, glad the wizard is there and we'll get even more, bravo another fine work of extraordinary imagination :)

[Marie]

I agree with MomzillNC. It's that little wizard that keeps you rhyming along (and will have you up to another 1,000 poems in now time).

No one else mentioned it so far, but I caught your reference right away.

[Valentine]

Read this one on another place, it is funny and so well written..Nice to see your sense of humor. Kathie

[MomzillaNC]

"Herder-er" LOL! So now we know where all your tales and originality comes from! Great anthropomorphization of inspiration.

[Cambion]

Very nice indeed! You have delivered an interesting story in a competently poetic manner and I'm glad I stumbled across your work. I like the quirkiness and the humanity of the piece. Besides, who doesn't love magical little people with bad tempers?