Each month, Michelle Heidenrich Barnes of Today’s Little Ditty shines the spotlight on a noted children’s poet. February’s featured poet, David L. Harrison, left readers with a challenge to compose a poem inspired by the word “ditty.” David explained that “I’m always entertained by how many poems come spinning out of the same word, and they arrive in all sorts of packaging.”
My brain started spinning and something made me remember this stuffed parrot, a baby gift from a friend for my oldest son:
I named her Penelope and hung her over Brian’s changing table. I made up stories about her and used to sing “Penelope the parrot is such a pretty girl…” to him as I dressed and changed him. He used to laugh and eventually sang along with me. After almost thirty years in the attic, she’s a little worse for the wear. She used to have black button eyes, and her colors aren’t quite as vibrant as they once were, but here she is, ready for her updated ditty.
“Penelope’s Ditty”
A parrot named Penelope
grew restless, bored, and fluttery.
She longed to soar over the ocean blue,
not sit in a cage like a stuffed statue.
Spreading her silky feathers wide,
she caught the breeze and began to glide.
Above an island, volcanic and steamy,
she met her mate, oh so dreamy!
Now nestled on her balcony
in the lush rainforest canopy,
she primps, she preens and looks so pretty,
visits with friends, is charming and witty.
Happy to be footloose and free,
Always singing her sweet little ditty!
© Catherine Flynn, 2016
Please be sure to visit Elizabeth Steinglass for the Poetry Friday Roundup.
Reading to the Core 
So sweet. The songs and stories we made for our children are perfect little ditties!
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What a sweet memory! Gift givers must love when what they’ve made becomes part of the family routine like that. Glad Penelope has her happy ending 🙂
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A cute rhyme for a precious memory. You must keep Penelope around for the grandchildren.
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Nothing worse than becoming “restless, bored, and fluttery” in your mature years! LOL. I love your ditty’s story, Catherine, and the backstory too. My heart is soaring with Penelope! (And BTW, she seems quite content roosting with the other ditties in the wrap-up celebration.)
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Catherine, this is a delightful post with a great backstory from your family memories. I think you should make a copy of your poem and attach it to Penelope for posterity.
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I absolutely love the image of Penelope over the changing table and you telling stories and singing songs together. I especially love restless, bored, and fluttery!
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Love that you still have sweet Penelope and that happy memory too, now made even better by a ditty. Nice, Catherine.
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Catherine, love the story and your creative ditty poem. Penelope is one feisty bird–still vibrant and contributing her song after 30 years!
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Such a sweet poem, Catherine – and the story that goes along with it is sweeter still.
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Sweet poem about Penelope :). Love picturing you singing to your son.
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Old memories getting a new life. What could be better?
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How perfect–a ditty for a parrot from your past life. You must keep her and bequeath her to your grandkids, along with her ditty, of course!
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Lovely parrot ditty, and not a pirate to peck!
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Love the memory and the ditty. My favourite lines were: “Spreading her silky feathers wide,
she caught the breeze and began to glide.”
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