I wrote this many years ago for two of my own little monsters.

This is a poem for all monsters,

Deep in their monstrous lairs,

In answer to all of their letters,

And their strange little monster prayers.

Yes, human beings have children,

Some are tall, some are fat and some thick,

But if you intend to catch one,

You’ll have to be ever so quick.

You see they’re watching always,

With their weird little human eyes,

Peering into corners,

Like a class of trainee spies.

So if you want to catch one,

You’ll have to be quite bright,

And get them while they’re snoring,

In the middle of the night.

So when you’re sleeping fitfully,

At the end of a really bad dream,

And you wake with a jolt, full of panic,

You’ll know that a monster has been.

But please don’t get too frightened,

They’re lonely, or didn’t you know,

When they come to your bed in the evening,

It’s only to say “hello”.

You see, if they came out in the daylight,

You’d scream and yell “mother, oh dear!”,

So they come under cover of darkness,

Because what you can’t see, you can’t fear.

So don’t be afraid if you glimpse one,

I know that he looks rather grim,

But just stop and think for a moment,

Of what you must look like to him.

So goodnight and sleeptight my monsters,

And, if you hear bumps in the night,

Remember, it might be a human,

So take care not to give him a fright.

© David Hermelin 2018