Hair-Raiser

Why are there hairs in your nose, Daddy;
why all those hairs in your nose?
Those are vibrissae, my darling;
vibrissae, as everyone knows!

Why are there hairs on your chest, Daddy;
why are there no hairs on mine?
Hairs on your chest will come later, my son;
hairs on the chest take some time!

Why’s there no hair on your head, Daddy;
why not a hair on your head?
Hair on the head is an optional extra –
now eat up your dinner, then bed!

Copyright: from Dragonsfire (Faber and Faber, 1990), copyright © Judith Nicholls 1990, used by permission of the author

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Judith makes use of traditional poetic forms, including ballad and riddle. Some of the poems have a refrain which makes them sound ...

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