A Room for a Librarian's Baby

There's a place for his cradle
A place for his clothes
And there put the table
Play pen? Goodness knows.
But leave a space there
By the big rocking chair.
I've planned for a bookcase
To fit in right there.

The top shelf's for toys
But the rest are for books
It will be quite a while
That the baby just looks
At simple, bright pictures
And nursery rhymes - yet,
There's a volume on child care,
In case I forget.

Later comes Milne
Then Alcott or Melville
And Bailey and Parrish....
Husband speaks:
"Where the hell will
I put this play pen
And all of these toys
While you're listing books
Best for young girls and boys?"

There's a place for his cradle
A place for his clothes
And there put the table
Play pen? Goodness knows.
But leave the space there
By the big rocking chair
I've planned for a bookcase
To fit in right there.