Florabella_002
*

As a child, she 
had stolen tomatoes 
from her neighbor's 
garden. Her mother 
discovered the theft, 
hit her, and shouted: 
"You stupid thing! 
You good-for-nothing! 
You are a silly prat!"
That's when she decided 
to become a poet, 
because she mixed up 
the words "prat" 
and "poet."
She sat down at 
the kitchen table, 
took a pencil and 
a piece of paper 
and wrote:
"Dearest child, 
now go to school.
On your way, stay 
brave and cool!
Sit on chair and 
learn for life!
Eat sandwiches
and do survive!"
Her mother found the 
note and destroyed it. 
She threw it into the fire 
of the coal stove that 
stood in the kitchen. 
Social criticism 
was not welcome. 
This was the birth 
of her poetic activities.
*

Florabella Darlington
*
Happy Birthday
*
When it was born, 
its mother said:
"Who made this 
ugly bomb?
I can't believe, 
but I'm afraid
it came out 
of my womb!"
So its mother 
always called it
"That Thing."
But its grandmother, 
trained as a fairy,
gave it the 
name "Flora"
because of her 
love for nature,
where even ugly 
plants make sense.
Many years later,
it gave itself
the artist name
"Florabella Darlington,"
because it had learned
to love itself.
Now you can 
read her poems 
everywhere 
in the world.