The Man Who Lived In Reverse

His up was your down. Your loose was his tight. And when people were wrong, he did what was right. This very silly, rhyming poem for children explores what happens when you look at things differently and accept people for who they are. It’s perfect for children & nerdlihc of all ages. ;)

If you're enjoying listening to Peter G. Reynolds original children's stories podcast Musings and Other Nonsense, please visit www.storiesbypeter.com where you'll find Peter's children's picture book, Lost Hallway: Where Do Lost Things Go and his latest children's chapter book Stitches in Time Travel. Both are available on Amazon. Stitches in Time Travel is also available as an audiobook on Amazon, Audible and iTunes.

Transcript

The Strange Man Who Lived in Reverse

I’ll tell you a tale

And I tell it in verse

Of a strange little man

Who lived in reverse 

His up was your down

Your left was his right

He slept in the morning

And had breakfast at night

His coffee was cold

His cereal hot

He remembered things

That others forgot. 

They called him Bob

For that was his name

For in either direction

In sounded the same

He lived in a field

For his inside was out

With all his possessions

Strewn all about

He kept to himself

And avoided the town

For each time he smiled

It looked like a frown

They’d shout and they’d yell

As he walked down the street

And they called him names

That I cannot repeat

The town was quite mean

But Bob wasn’t sad

He often felt good

When others felt bad. 

So the town let him be

Alone with his curse

That strange little man

Who lived in reverse.

Then on a Monday

Bob’s favorite by far 

He heard a loud shout

That sounded bizarre 

Em pleh! Em pleh!

Cried out from the wood

Cries that of course

Only Bob understood. 

The people in town 

They did nothing at all

So Bob did the reverse

And answered the call.

He entered the wood

And guess what he found?

A strange looking child

Quite stuck in the ground.

She wasn’t just stuck

She was sinking in sand!

Faster and faster 

As she struggled to stand

Bob wasn’t scared

He knew what to do.

For the opposite thing 

Can sometimes be true

So bob shouted, “Pots”! 

And the girl understood

She stopped struggling

As much as she could 

Her sinking slowed down

And Bob grabbed her hand

And slowly he pulled her

Right out of the sand

Then they left the forest 

And came to a clearing

Where people from town

Were all loudly cheering

Bob was confused

What were they all doing? 

The crowd understood

And all started booing.

Bob thought about this 

He thought for a while

And rather than frown

He gave them a smile. 

And from that day on

He was welcome in town

Sometimes he would smile

Sometimes he would frown

The towns people learned

What often is true

That the opposite thing

Is the right thing to do

For it doesn’t matter 

Which way that you go

If your up is down 

If your fast is slow

If your front is back

If your near is far

The best path in life

Is to be who you are

He was part of their town

For better or worse

That strange little man

Who lived in reverse