by Modupe Oloruntoba
I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me;
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me when I jump into my bed.
The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow;
Not at all like proper children, which is often very slow.
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an Indian rubber ball;
And he sometimes gets so little that there’s none of him at all.
He hasn’t got a notion of how children ought to play;
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close beside me, he’s a coward you can see;
I’d think it a shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!
One morning, bright and early, before the sun was up;
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup.
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy head,
Had stayed home beside me and was fast asleep in bed.
