Early Learning (Poetry)

When I was small I had small pets
a house spider or two
diverting lonesome afternoons
they spun the hours through

I was a child who knew a world
of creeping crawling things
and counted many nameless friends
in terms of legs and wings

I valued every little bug
and marvelled how he ran
I learnt as much as any young
and keen observer can

My parents found it rather strange
my interest should be so
engaged in such ungirlish ways
they were too staid to know

imagination has no bounds
of any kind at all
those creatures shared their simple lives
despite them being small