The Tale Of A Bad Egg (Poetry)

Humpty Dumpty perched on a fence
Humpty Dumpty lacked good sense
a show-off egghead — rather dense
he fell and got no recompense.

He tried to sue without a leg
(to stand on). How he screamed and begged
while blame on someone else he pegged
this cracked up, partly-scrambled egg.

While all around the village folk
avoided staring at his yolk
and every unkind omlette joke
for they felt sorry for the bloke.

The king arrived with umpteen men
to put the pieces back again
but failed our fragile Humpty when
he haemorrhaged more albumen.

How things went on it’s hard to tell
time helped to mend (but less than well).
Depressed since that black day he fell
he disappeared into his shell.

Now Humpty Dumpty’s a recluse —
a hermit egg — his lame excuse
a sorry tale of self-abuse
admitted since — his guilt profuse

for claiming he was pushed or shoved.
A lonely childhood spent unloved
the reason he’d climbed high above
with no protection — hands ungloved

no safety helmet, which just might
have made the damage less or slight
but Humpty’s brain was far from bright
so, all in all, it served him right.

*****

The moral’s plain for us to see —
that persons shaped like Humpty D
should either balance properly
or topple less disastrously.