Shuttlecock

Jonas Jonathon Barnstable-Bailey does not like mincemeat pies
If he could he’d tell you all of the many wherefores and the whys
Yet when Granny makes them small, they have a strong attraction
He will pick them up and lick the top no matter what the reaction

He will quickly lick all the powdered sugar off the crust on the top
And pay almost no attention when his mother tells him he must stop
He may even eat the crust he has licked, for this he can still abide
Though he will never, ever, even taste, the goodness tucked inside

Jon Bailey, as his Granddad sometimes calls him is really only two
Very soon he’ll have a baby brother and that might change his view
Yet this small lad is a happy boy, sweet, kind, loving and so giving
So there may well be no rivalry when with his brother he is living

Many years from now, perhaps, till these boys like a mincemeat pie
Though nobody really knows or can, what might in their future lie
Perhaps someday they’ll bake mincemeat pies of their very own
So they can lick the sugar off the top, no matter how they’ve grown