when I was small the grown-ups bought me a roly-poly doll.

a doll with no language,

weighted at the base, that

when struck from any direction,

always ends upright.

with a sinister smile and a vacant stare.

 

I spent hours

trying to knock him down, but I never managed it.

however hard I hit his head

that fat red doll conspired

to right himself.

 

that game turned me into a big roly-poly doll:

a subject with no language,

weighted between the legs that,

when struck from any direction,

always ends upright.

 

This displeases the adults,

so happy and focussed on the art of giving orders.

 

for you I'll be the Good Doll.

if you want to see how I right myself

hit me in the head.