Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Legoman, Oh Legoman

Legoman oh Legoman
Come put us guys together
Build us castles high and strong
And ships for stormy weather

Take us in your nimble fingers
And all our pieces find
And we will gladly be for you
Whatever's in your mind

Legoman oh Legoman
Oh hear our desperate plea
We're trapped within this darkened box
A yearnin' to be free

So place us on the battlements
The drawbridge, in the spire
Bring forth the wizard with his books
And torch of magic fire

Give us helmets, swords, and shields
And capes that we may clothe
There is no battle that we fear
It's boredom that we loathe

Conjure up a pirate isle
With caves stuffed full of loot
The nasty alligator
That chewed off Wilkie's boot

Fabricate a splendid coach
Fit to carry royal blood
Then march us through the city
Though the streets be filled with mud

Make us mighty warriors
Make us strong & kind & just
Make us champions for the helpless
In you we give our trust

Oh Legoman oh Legoman
On you we all depend
For though we're only plastic
You turn us into men

So be our leader, be our king
Beside you we will stand
And we will make your dreams come true
Your wish is our command

Rummaging through old papers I found this poem. When our son was a lad he was an avid fan of Legos, so much so that we sometimes called him Legoman. For a few years another set topped his Christmas wish list. In '96 I wrote this poem to accompany the gift.


Note: From humble beginnings in a carpenter's shop in 1916 in Denmark, Lego is probably the world's most popular toy. The name was formed from the Danish words "LEg GOdt" or "play well". Later on it was realized that in Latin the word means "I study" or "I put together". Aptly named and a very cool toy.

3 comments:

rtuts said...

Ah, Legos. A good example of our seemingly innate gender roles as children. I remember trying to play with Dylan, him always wanting to build them as they were meant to be, with soldiers and Indians and pirates, and me wanting to make houses and villages for families...the cause of many a sibling battle. He would get mad for me "doing it wrong!" and I would retaliate by taking one of his pieces, then he would crush my nicely constructed pony stable and I would cry and run for parental assistance.
Aren't you glad we turned out so well? :-)

rtuts said...

Also, was your ISO really high on the macro shot of the blue soldier? It has a funny quality to it.

Stephen said...

yep you got it - high ISO, hand held,reaching up to where they sit on the bureau. I like the last one - you can see cobwebs on the horse.