She Was In The Backyard Playing

She was in the backyard playing
While her daddy worked nearby,
A little girl three years of age
Had baked a playhouse pie.

She had some beans and spinach
With some fresh strawberries, too.
Some were the same as the time before,
Yet one or two were brand new.

She called out to her daddy,
"It is time for dinner now."
When her daddy came and joined her,
She her little head did bow.

Saying, "Our dear God we thank you
Because you gave us this food."
And she scolded at her daddy,
Said his manners were too crude.

Said, "You really need not hurry,
'Cause that old work can wait .
So just talk to me my Daddy
While I fix another plate."

But he said, "Ah, no, my baby.
That is very kind of you.
Yet my work I still must finish
All before the day is through."

So he just got started working
When a little voice so sweet
Called out, "Daddy, dinner's ready.
And you must come and eat."

Now the scene in memory lingers
And I hear a little voice
Saying, "Daddy, dinner's ready,"
And it makes my heart rejoice.

Now she has grown up and left us
And sometimes I nearly cry
When I see her baby picture
With her playhouse standing by.

Vester Cooper
c 2008. Vester Cooper Trust. All rights reserved.