When I was a child
I thought of childish things
Like a thief lived under my bed.
My father offered comfort
Told me there was no thief
Hiding beneath my bed.
But his words though consoling
Never took away my fear.
At night I sensed the movement
Of every cavorting spectre
Moving ever closer as I huddled under covers.
For in the dark it’s all so real,
Knowing a thief lives under your bed.
An old nun came to visit once
She’d heard about my fears
And sat one night upon my bed
Took my hand and said a prayer
That Jesus keep me safe.
‘What do you think Jesus might say?’
As outside a storm did rage.
I found myself disappearing
Into my bed, out of dread.
The old nun looked under my bed
Smiled at me and said:
‘I think Jesus would say,
”Hello Mr Thief.”’
I was instantly horrified
‘There really is a thief?’
‘No,’ said the nun, ‘There is no thief.
The thought you see is in your head.
Go in there and find your thief
Ask him politely to come out
And sit with you a while.
Then ask him why, he needs,
To hide beneath your bed?’
Written for: https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2016/03/20/writing-prompt-151-collage-19/
Morpethroad 
Powerful and wise lesson in this Michael! Bravo!
Thank you Yves glad you thought so.
Well done 🙂
You’ve captured the child’s fear so well – that unreasonable sensation that all is not quite right and yet no matter what a trusted adult or authority figure may offer, to alleviate the feelings, is in doubt. The introduction of the nun, totally brilliant – and well done. Loved the use of the parable type device. Excellent write Michael 😀
Thank you Pat so many of us have fears that live inside our heads.
yup …. from the small to the largest epic ones …. shame how they can cripple …..
Yes indeed they leave us a blubbering mess with very little effort at times..
true …. but I guess that’s just part of life lessons …regardless of age.
Hope you’ve had a wonderful day 🙂
My day is about to start…..let you know how it turns out…..its 8.20am Monday here….already been domestic I have, washing and laundry on the go….
LOL@ already been domestic I have 😉
right then …. so I hope the days turns out to be filled with more than just the tired dust bunnies, although sometimes the repetition of the mundane can be sources of inspiration …. nonetheless ….may it be one filled with all kinds of treasures too …. and hopefully more comfortable weather 🙂
The weather is great, what I love about the autumn. From now until September/October the weather is very pleasant….note I didn’t mention the dust….ugh…..so guilty of not doing that….
LOL @ the not guilty bit 😉
At least the weather, minus the dust, is definitely more agreeable then, and that is truly excellent ….. every time I see some weather feature on the weather in some part of Oz I sit and think, “unbelievable” how extreme it can be, but it’s not only relevant to Oz of course, but certainly, it can put things into perspective.
Today Pat is beautiful, I might rain, I don’t care its cool just as it should be this time of year…..
after the sweltering heat you’ve had all summer …. it can be just delightful to revel in the coolness and rain 😀
Yes it is…
Powerful poem Michael. And I love the imagery. A wise nun, I’m sure the boy was grateful for. She taught him most of our fears, our in our own heads, not in real life, under the bed.
Yes indeed Mandi, so much we fear is in our heads….lovely you could stop by…
Thank you Michael. I very much enjoy your poems and other writing 🙂
Thank you Mandi…
This is so good, Michael!
Hi Lyn thank you so much…..glad you thought so….
wise ‘old nun’ , so comforting story
Thank you so much, appreciate your comment.