08/10/2016 Broken Ships

[Riordan]

"There's cake, coffee and tea yet there's no happy man.
How come, daddy, how come they're sad?" asked Stan.

Well, their blood is sick and that's not good.
It doesn't do its job as well as it should.
"Brr... blood is scary but what does it do?"
Listen to this story. That'll explain it to you.

Blood has cells; they are ships, veins are rivers.
Red ships take valuables on trips and deliver
them to the organs such as the kidneys and spleen.
Red brigade brings oxygen, vitamins, minerals and proteins.
The white boats make sure the red ones are protected
from stealing pirates or the body to become infected.
Platelets are special: they make sure the river isn't too thin
or too thick so the ships can sail and people can swim.

Some with these letter diseases have too many ships sailing.
Some factories don't make enough whites, defenses are failing.
I see a lot of brave people. Do you see some have medals on their chest?
The color says how their ships are broken. Count them and do your best.

Pills and therapy fix ships or help the harbor and docks.
Some destroy and rebuild, others clear the sludge and rocks.
Other meds make sure newly made boats are allowed to travel.
I hope it was clear to you Stan. Is this blood mystery unraveled?

"I get it yesh, but why are you sad? Why do you have tears?"
Daddy is old but some here have lived for many a-year
like the nice people on the bus when we were in Ireland.
They have been doctors, writers and yes, also a fireman.
My friend, Turtle Girl,who I truly respect, also has a disease:
only crazy, white ships come out of her boat factories.
She's around my age and I've known her for so long.
I'm still in rage her boats bring blue notes in her songs.

"But, but daddy, how can we repair her boats?"
I don't know how what makes such ships float.
I'm not a sailor, builder or a man of crafts.
I don't know a dinghy from a life raft.
All I know, is that you have broken ships;
you aren't broken ships so enjoy friendships.

A few days later, we went to the forest for about an hour.
Stan collected wood, carried it home with all his power.
That was great son, good job, but when will you use it? When?
"Not for me. These are for her so her ships can sail once again."

[Chelle]

Very well put in childlike terms. Touching how even in the face of illness we can still want to help others.

[sparky21737]

It held sadness but also a child like innocence. The way illness was described in child terms only added to the sadness and the end nearly made me cry. It is very much like a child to see a problem and try to fix it. Even if wood won't help. Well written and thanks for sharing

Sparky

[Josie]

This was a clever way to introduce blood diseases to a child. What a gift for the Daddy to have a son who wanted to help Turtle Girl. I find it a blessing to have grandchildren who will get out and exercise with me, or if we eat out, to share by dividing a meal in half or getting a 'to go' box. Diet and exercise are two major areas where a child's encouraging help can be given. I liked your descriptions about meds in stanza 5. Congratulations on the TPS Spotlight.