A day in the life of Lilian Is by most standards good: She stands in her cot quite meekly Until it is time for food - With finger in side of her mouth She yodels, "wa wa wa wa wa" And then banging on her playpen, "Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma" And as I begin conversation With her, "La la la la la," She looks at me intently And screams, "BWA BWA BWA BWA BWA" - How dare you not give me food now? I am the queen of the house And if you do not put this muesli Right now in my mouth I will raise such a howl That you will take to your grave So give it to me, right now, Give it to me, you slave! She happily laughs while I kiss her, Then joyfully smacks my face - What are you doing, mister? Must I use my can of mace? And then she is laughing at me Her diaper and pants, on the rug - Dad, why are you unhappy? It's me, come give me a hug! With a mouth full of fingers - Other hand clutching a doll - She is the charming princess Of our little world - The children all love this creature With her big radiant eyes With soft, delightful features And open, teething smiles - They cuddle and hold and kiss her This teddy bear come alive And people cannot resist her - So how can I and my wife? We feed her, clothe her, change her, Kiss her, hug her, give her toys Keep her from harm and danger - And then in the sweetest voice She speaks the word "Dada" To a girl who tells her hello And people are laughing out loud: That's not your dad, don't you know? I hold her in front of mirror She laughs back at what she sees: The face that reflects back at her Lit up by infectious bliss. She loves being bathed in water And drinks milk from mother's breast And yet she is daddy's daughter And loathes to get dressed - And then she is all her own: The queen of all time and space - And only eleven months old - Why, if at such a pace Exceeding great people and royals One day she will be divine And make even better worlds For people to reside in! More feeding, cuddling, adoring And then her eyes have grown shut Until the following morning - The queen is asleep. All be quiet.
