Olivia, River Otter

A Poem for my Grandson, Brayden, and his new friend,
Oliver River Otter on the occasion of their surgery.

Poor Olivia, Olivia River Otter;

playing in the river, floating

on the ripples and waves,

she cut her foot on a sharp rock

at the water’s edge, and it hurt,

really hurt, maybe even broke it,

and now she needs, like you, surgery

to fix her up, make her good as new,

better than new, all fixed up.

So off to sleep she goes, snoring

as otters snore, softly wheezing,

and dreaming of sunshine on the river

and otters splashing and playing,

diving below the water and coming up

with a splash of water spraying, but

it made her little brother cry, got

water in his eyes, so she cozied up

to him and chased the tears away.

And then she woke up, a little groggy

from her sleep, but a smile still on her face,

for otters always smile and laugh and play,

except now, she’s got a bandage on her foot,

and though it doesn’t hurt, well, maybe

just a little, she has to rest, take it easy,

before the bandage can come off and

she can swim in the river again, splashing

and playing, diving below the water.

But this made her sad, a tear forming

in her eye and spilling down her otter cheeks.

What is she to do? Poor Olivia, Oliver River Otter.

Oh, she’s come to be with you, stuck together

in this hospital bed, waiting to get well,

all fixed up, as good as new, better

than new, but she’ll need you to cozy up

with her, to cheer her up and chase the tears away,

bring the smile and the laughter back to her face.

And this is the story of Brayden and Olivia,

Olivia River Otter, stuck together in a hospital,

but stuck together is better than stuck alone,

each to cheer up the other, cozied up together.