AN ODE TO SHEM’S 21st

It was 21 years ago today
That our son was born in a different way
While ordinary people arrive on this earth
Mostly through a traumatic birth
Our son was a smart little man
And insisted on a caesarean

No mess, no fuss, what a way to arrive
Not like squeezing and pushing to survive
His mother calm and sedated
Watched as they showed him to his father
Who was elated

But nine months cramped to one side
Produced a problem you could not hide
Looking down upon his crown, one had to frown
That his head, was slightly twisted

If left unattended
It would never have mended
And the curse would have got worse
Till his head turned at an angle
Ninety degrees to his dangle

And so that he wouldn’t grow up looking like a twit
We worked on a solution to fix it
By turning his head while asleep at night
In the opposite direction till it came right
But I have to admit, I didn’t help it
When one day, without intent, he did slip
From my grip
Now I dread what it’s done to his head.
So the bounce I’m here to announce
May explain his quirky brain

But perhaps that’s what we like about him
Spontaneous things that he does on a whim
When it’s all said and done
It’s his sense of fun
His weird and wonderful ways
That gets him through his days

We named him after one of Noah’s three sons
Shem, Ham and Jacob were the ones
We picked Shem
Because it was better than the rest of them
Dam, if I was going to call him Ham - how weird
And Jacob - you picture an old fart with a beard
Shem means “Renowned, with good reputation”
And he’s lived up to that without hesitation

Being an only child he grew up with his mum and dad
Sharing in the thoughts we had
From an early age we gave him the freedom to be
Whatever he wanted in society
And now he’s grown to be quite a lad

We’ve watched him with pride
Taking the journey in his stride
From baby to boy, teenager to man
Each step part of the plan
Shem, today you are twenty-one
And you make us proud to be our son