The Shadow Puppeteer

Shadow puppets on the wall

Cast for this play by fingers small

The child nestles in his bed

Sleeping not, rehearses instead

His curtains open to the sky

The moon peeps in as she rocks by

And hesitates, her movements slow

Hoping perhaps to catch the show

Oh, the tales told by this puppeteer

Of sailing ship and grave fakir

He wields his flashlight with one hand

The other's a knight in a far off land.

He keeps his whispers soft and low

Hoping Mother doesn't know

As he recites the genie's line

Or makes King Henry drink his wine

And then Sleep's curtain softly falls

But in his dreams he still recalls

The treasure hunts, the swords that clashed

The flashlight flickers out at last