Gnomes at Night
Listen to B.J. Lee read her poem ...
Garden gnomes with pointed caps
and beards of white
stand with shovel, hoe or pick
in broad daylight.
But what, oh what, I wonder, do they do
at night?
Somersault across the grass,
do you suppose?
Cavort like naughty pranksters through
the sprinkler hose?
Jump into Frog Pond to wash off
muddy toes?
Pick pears and plums and apricots
to toss about,
dance wildly in lush lily gardens,
sing and shout,
go back to standing still because they’re
tuckered out?
and beards of white
stand with shovel, hoe or pick
in broad daylight.
But what, oh what, I wonder, do they do
at night?
Somersault across the grass,
do you suppose?
Cavort like naughty pranksters through
the sprinkler hose?
Jump into Frog Pond to wash off
muddy toes?
Pick pears and plums and apricots
to toss about,
dance wildly in lush lily gardens,
sing and shout,
go back to standing still because they’re
tuckered out?
This poem is copyright (©) BJ Lee 2024
About the Writer
BJ Lee
B.J. Lee is a former music librarian at The Boston Conservatory. Her award-winning children’s poems can be found in anthologies by Macmillan, Penguin, Little, Brown, National Geographic, Bloomsbury, Wordsong, Otter-Barry and others, as well as in children’s magazines. Her picture book, There Was an Old Gator Who Swallowed a Moth, released in 2019, with another on the way. Her current project is a YA verse novel. She lives in Florida with her husband, poet Malcolm Deeley, and toy poodle. bjleeauthor.com
