Tantrums , occur frequently
Often after a little boy realizes
that he won't get his way this time,
that the candy bar lounging on the counter won't
find it's chocolately insides under his fingernails
and smeared around his plump lips before dinner
Sometimes , we aggravated the last-born
Without our mother's knowledge
Just for a show
Dramatic since birth, he cried with a tune
Composing a woeful ballad on a whim
in his crumb encrusted booster
as each crystal tear slid down his cheeks
Not really forming words, his poignant sobs rose and fell
like a crisp violin's melancholy solo
With soft hiccups keeping time
for lack of a proper metronome
Baby S even would wail notes of mournful melodies
until he drifted off to sleep
We mutely applauded as his eyelids fluttered shut