Things We've Thought of Enough

This book of rhymes will make you think. There is something for everyone, with themes ranging from silly to sentimental; whimsical to philosophical; critical thinking to self help. You'll find yourself torn between turning the page to enjoy the next rhyme, and staring off into space to ponder the one you just read. Some rhymes will gently nudge you from your present mode of thought, while others will send you flying headlong to an unexpected new outlook. The imaginative illustrations are sure to produce giggles, sighs, and occasionally a tear. So whether you're looking for lighthearted reading or a supply of thought-provoking topics to reflect on (don't be fooled by the cartoon cover), this book is for you. Features 94 rhymes and 33 illustrations. Examples include:

At five years old, she stomped the ground
And asked, “Why can’t I turn around?”
“Just do like this…,” we played a mime.
She said, “No, no, I mean in time.”

Letters and pictures and sympathy notes
and pieces of distant old friends
Follow your life through the joy and the strife
in a little box worn on the ends.
Years down the line, you’ll remove from a shelf
the memories long overdue,
And wonder once more, whose shoeboxes store
old pictures and pieces of you.

How can you tell you’re no longer a kid?
You stop your bike gently, no need for a skid.
In hide-and-go-seek games, you want to be found,
And puddles are things that you now walk around.

When falsehoods keep on pouring down
And facts are left to slowly drown,
We’ll never see and never hear
The truths before they disappear.

They grew together, they grew apart,
Alone again, just like the start.
Each of them, when all was done,
Was less than two, but more than one.

It’s always the plan when the going gets rough,
The weak have a tactic that makes them feel tough.
They look for the bait and find something to click on,
And queue up a new group of people to pick on.

We can dream about soaring with birds on the wind –
a lofty but futile goal.
But think of the things, which don’t involve wings,
that are fully within our control.
Like besting our nerves, and breaking the ice,
and trying to make a crush real.
So with thanks to the birds, we muster the words
to finally say how we feel.

That cute little toddler who can’t count to two
Will grow up and someday know much more than you.
Generations will always push back the frontiers,
In slow-motion leapfrog played down through the years.

One day she decided she’d write a new story,
she built and developed a plot.
She added some twists and a character list,
and decided what happened or not.
She relished the way she controlled all the moves
and could choose between gladness and strife.
But though you might think there’s a book filled with ink,
she’s just taking charge of her life.