SECONDHAND STEVEN
Here's a little story
About a little boy
Who had secondhand shoestrings
And secondhand toys
He had secondhand hamsters
Who had lost most their hair
And a secondhand clock
On walls which were bare
He had a second – hand watch
- which no longer told hours
It just clicked away seconds
And made a "ding!" on the hour
- So secondhand Stephen
Had secondhand friends
Who played the same games over
- and over again
They played deflated basketball
And baseball with dowels
They played with secondhand super-heroes
Who had lost all their powers
They built kingdoms from cardboard
With toilet-paper-roll towers
And the sign on Steven's clubhouse said:
"STPHN'S CLBHS!!!"
'Cause Stephen didn't have
Any vowels
Stephen's mother and father
Worked at a secondhand store
That raised money from donations
Which they gave to the poor
At the 2nd Street Soup Kitchen
- Where they all volunteered
They served secondhand food
'Til it all disappeared
They fed people who were homeless
And some who were just hungry
Who would come to the 2nd Street Soup Kitchen
When their bellies got grumbly
They ate day-old donuts
And day-old "fresh bread"
And while none of it was fancy
Everyone left fed
So secondhand Stephen
Didn't mind, anyway
That he had a secondhand life
When he woke every day
Because Stephen was happy
In his home filled with joy
For his family was together
And that was better than toys
Now Stephen has a talent
Which he shares with boys and girls
Which he shares with both his parents
And hopes to show the world
That with secondhand pencils,
And pastels and pens
And paints that are dry
And brushes that bend
And with charcoal from chimneys
Or with juice from a beet
He can make any picture
That he's started to think.
He made a war between dragons
That was covered in fire
Where both dragons roared
As they flew ever higher
Both kicking and punching
And fighting in waves
'Til they gave up
- Too tired
And went back to their caves
He drew a unicorn once
Who's horn was a red flame
Which Stephen designed
For when he makes video games
With trolls, giants and orcs
And elves, dwarves and thieves
That fight in big battles
- Stephen draws them as he sees
Which ones are the heroes?
And which ones enemies?
How one day war is over
How one day there is peace
Which then makes him draw a pasture
And a forest with the moon
And knights swinging swords
- All in one afternoon
And then he shares with his friends
Who make stories for each one
Then they act them all out
Until each battle is won!
One day Stephen
Was at the 2nd Street Soup Kitchen
It was really cold outside
And people were slipping
On ice that was frozen
From the night gone before
And so over and over
People came through the door
Of the 2nd Street Soup Kitchen
'Til the room filled with warmth
From a room filled with people
Just trying to keep warm
And there in the crowd
Was a girl dressed in blue
With the lightest blonde hair
And eyes like the moon
Blue eyes like the color
Of a glacier that melts
Stephen saw in her smile
She was like no one else
Stephen shared all his pictures
To her eyes - as she stared
And as he flipped through his notebook
She started to share
"Hi - My name is Tarynn
- And I like to write
It's something I do
Almost every night
I like to write stories
- But I can't make those drawings
And then she pointed at his notebook
And said:
"Wow - They are awesome!"
Tarynn kept sharing
She told Stephen such stories!
They were fantastic and funny
Like things seen in movies
When he went with his parents
To Saturday matinees
When it cost only four dollars
So early in the day
So they started making stories
Stephen and Tarynn together
She'd write some great words
And he'd draw them as pictures
And as they worked together
Things just started to look
With her words
- and his pictures
Like the pages of books
So they wrote their first story
About their first meeting
About how he made pictures
And she filled them with meaning
With each one, helping the other
They always ended up even
So they made their first book
And called it "Secondhand Stephen"