DEAR ABBY: I am sending you a poem I wrote in 1962 when our twins were born. I thought that since you are a twin, you would appreciate it. -- AL WILLIS, ARLINGTON, TEXAS
DEAR AL: You thought right. I'm printing your poem to be enjoyed by those readers who were also blessed with "double trouble." (Please forgive me, but I can't help but brag that my wonderful son, Edward Jay, and his lovely wife, Leslye, blessed our family with "double trouble" in 1994, a boy and a girl -- the twins are named J.J. and Hutton.)
TWINS ARE DOUBLE TROUBLE
by Al Willis
Twins are double trouble.
They cry, they smash, they tear.
They break and spill and bite and scratch
And pull each other's hair.
They practice art upon the walls
And yank electric plugs.
And cookies, milk and something else
Get ground into the rugs.
They drive their mother crazy,
Their father is berserk,
He's glad when Monday comes around,
So he can go to work.
The diaper pails are filled again;
The laundry tub's piled high.
The doctor bills (and others, too)
Are mounting to the sky.
So if you have a single child
As placid as a dove,
Contain your envy, if you can;
We have a double love.