Daisy Chain by Becky Bravo

This is the story of Daisy Chain
a naughty girl, a royal pain
You should've seen the bright red blush on Daisy's mother's face
when Daisy threw a tantrum in a very public place.

Shopping at the supermarket on Sunday afternoon,
Daisy laid her starry eyes on The Chocolate Kaboom -
A block of chocolate as big as your head,
striped with caramel and strawberry thread,
A honeycomb center, marshmallows galore
Guaranteed to send your teeth all falling to the floor!
Daisy had to have it,
Daisy had to try,
If Daisy couldn't have it
She would absolutely DIE.

She begged her mother pretty please
and went down on her bony knees,
Smiled and simpered like a pro
but Daisy got a big fat NO.
Quick as a flash she threw a fit,
first a trembling in the lower lip,
and then she squeezed her eyes real tight,
and then she screamed with all her might -

The scream was heard throughout the store
It shattered the glass, blew open the doors
Went thundering from aisle to aisle and rattled all the carts,
Slicing watermelons into fourteen equal parts.
An old lady dropped a bagful of peas,
sent a clerk scrabbling on his hands and knees,
Frozen peas rolled here and there,
frozen peas rolled everywhere.
One young woman slipped on a pea,
and out of her hands flew a carton of tea
which landed on an old man's head
as he was reaching for a loaf of bread -
He was last seen in a frantic dance
before being buried in the avalanche
of Pullman loaves and pan de sal.

Red in the cheeks and embarrassed to death,
Daisy's mother took a breath
and said it firmly, loud and slow

No.

No.

NO.

Our girl Daisy screamed anew,
screeched until her face was blue,
knocked the bottles off the shelves,
exploded all the eggs in twelves.
Foamed up all the dish detergents,
split open all the beans,
withered all the bulbs and tubers,
wilted all the greens.
Cheese puffs scattered all around,
stuck to the ceiling and down on the ground,
cookies scattered near and far,
mixed up with the candy bars .
Mayonnaise volcanoes!
Geysers of shampoo!
When little children throw a fit
There's nothing you can do...

but wait until they're tuckered out,
too tired to shriek, too pooped to shout.

Daisy drew a breath at last,
none too quickly, none too fast,
and when she opened up her eyes
it wasn't such a big surprise
that every person in the place
was frowning at her purple face -
they narrowed their eyes and pursed their lips
and stood with hands upon their hips.
They clucked their tongues and shook their heads.

Tsk.

Tsk.

TSK!


Our girl Daisy,
dazed and stunned,
saw the damage she had done.
Shame, shame, shame.
Daisy knew just what she'd been -
A naughty girl, a royal pain.

Sorry.

Sorry.

SORRY.

Small and sheepish Daisy Chain
hid behind her mother's skirt
and never screamed again.

***