Funnies

I am in the second
Grade a second time
For refusing to read,
But today is Sunday
Of a bitter cold winter
And one by one we
Wake to the smell of
Toasted bagels with
Butter or cream cheese
Wafting upstairs from
The kitchen and make
Our way to our parents
Bedroom, all three
Of the bedrooms are
Upstairs where it is warm.
Susan and Penny wake last,
Sarah and I are first, David
Is the baby and Mary is only
A twinkle in Dad’s eye.
Our parents’ bed seems big
To us and we climb up to
Share a platter of hot bagels
With some hot chocolate we
Try not to spill while each
Reading a section of the
St.Louis Post Dispatch with
Colorful funnies enough for
All us kids and other sections
For parents and elder sisters.
I read the Katzenjammer Kids
In mock Yiddish, Prince Valiant,
Beatle Bailey, Pogo, Snuffy Smith,
And many more while eating
Toasted buttered bagels with
Hot chocolate and enjoying the
Warmth of room and of the
Companionship of siblings.
We would dash down to the
Kitchen to toast more bagels
And heat up more chocolate
Then rejoin the breakfast in
Bed until our parents
Finally got up and we all
Headed for the kitchen to refill
Our plate and cup ready to
Lay on the rug in the living
Room and listen to the
Sunday morning funnies
On the radio broadcast from
Cincinnati as we perused
Scientific American, Life and
Time magazines and books
Knowing how cold it was
Outside and luxuriating
In the warmth of the furnace,
Once turned up, snug as
A bug in the rug.