Ok Lillian Pillian Rillian
Ok Lillian Pillian Rillian
listen to this:
Original Text
Wendy Agnew, "Ok Lillian Pillian Rillian
listen to this," The Lillian Lectures (Toronto:
Coach House Books, 1998).
1Mothers and fathers have
2a pact with the devil
3When they decide not to become nuns
4but to get married and have sex
5because that's where we get babies
6The devil makes the man swallow a frog
7on their wedding night
8that's why your father burps sometimes
9and the woman has to swallow a spider
10Then the frog and the spider crawl out
11and look at them when they're sleeping
12and see what they look like
13then the frog spits on some dust
14and the spider weaves the dust and spit
15into a baby that sorta looks
16like your mom and dad
17then the spider drags it back inside
18the mommie's tummy
19That's how you got born
20Pretty neat eh?
21Now the baby grows inside there
22cause your mom catches flies
23and eats them at night
24when nobody can see her
25OK that's why mothers always swat flies
26in the day time
27to build up a supply
28so the spider keeps weaving the baby
29and when the baby comes out
30there's this cord on it from the web
31and when they cut the cord
32the poor spider dies
33When I have a baby
34I'm going to keep eating lots of flies
35after the baby's born
36so my spider can
37still live
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire / Sharine Leung
RPO Edition
2011
Rhyme
Form
Special Copyright
Copyright © Wendy Agnew and used by permission of the poet.
Authorization to republish this poem must be obtained from her in writing.