Guess What!
©1981 Susan Noyes Anderson
What’s the most important thing of all?
It’s sometimes big and sometimes small.
It’s full of girls (or maybe boys)
and makes an awful lot of noise.
Family Relationship Poems
My heart is most pleased and blessed by family and family relationship poems, for they are closest to my heart. Some of these offerings are funny, moving, nostalgic, or religious. Others are more complex, refusing (as families themselves do) to fit neatly under any one characterization. My poems value the complexity of every family relationship and respect those who honor and uphold it. I hope you find something that resonates with you here. May the poems evoke feelings (delightful and occasionally less so) that we all associate with being part of a family.
FINDING THE POEM YOU WANT: As you scroll through this section, simply read each snippet sample (usually the first four lines) to get a feel for the poem. When you find something you like, click “CONTINUE READING” to view the entire poem.
(My work may be used free for non-commercial purposes only. Please request permission by email and include full copyright information, legibly printed, on every copy made. For internet use, a link back to the poem on this website is required.)
No Fair!
©1991 Susan Noyes Anderson
The baby spits, and mother smiles.
If I spit, she gets mad.
She shakes her head when I burp but
when baby burps, she’s glad.
Excuse the Mess
©1991 Susan Noyes Anderson
Why does my mother have to say,
“Go clean your room?” It wrecks my day.
“Go clean your room!” she says to me.
“There’s clothes where carpet used to be,
and games and books on top of those,
and snacks starting to decompose!
Rise and Shine – Not! (for teens)
©1997 Susan Noyes Anderson, At The End of Your Rope, There’s Hope, Deseret Book
Don’t wake me up.
Don’t pound my door.
I need more sleep.
I need much more.
Natural Disaster
©1981 by Susan Noyes Anderson
The house was resting on a slant
(perhaps a cracked foundation).
Inside a scene of chaos
and total devastation.
“If” – For Parents of Teenagers
©1997 Susan Noyes Anderson, At The End of Your Rope, There’s Hope, Deseret Book
(written with a fond bow to Rudyard Kipling)
If you can keep your head and not lose favor,
When adolescence makes its grand debut;
If you can trust yourself to never waiver,
And always keep an optimistic view;
Thanksgiving Prayer
©1991 Susan D. Noyes Anderson
I’m thankful for my mother, and
I’m thankful for my dad.
I’m thankful for my sisters, and
for all the fun we’ve had.
Weather Retort
©1981 Susan Noyes Anderson
A long-sleeved shirt again?
Oh, come on Mom, I just can’t take it.
I know that summer’s coming,
but I wonder if I’ll make it.