The Great Big Terrible Fight

written by Lynne Brooks copyright 2006

Jim and Joe had a great big terrible fight
Jim thinks Joe is wrong and Joe thinks he is right.

Jim and Joe are brothers who much to their displeasure
According to their parents must share a room together.

Jim and Joe look almost exactly the same
Jim and Joe are twins who share the same parents, a room and the same last name.

The fight broke out soon after - after they were told
That it was now time - now that they were five years old
To keep their room neat and tidy and make sure it was not a mess.
They would need to work together so their room would look its best.

These brothers even though they looked alike
Were not the same at all.
Jim is very neat and clean and Joe is not at all.

Jim has a place for all his things to go.
His blocks are stacked in the corner.
His books are on the shelf.
His teddy bear sits up on the bed proudly by himself.

Joe didn’t care where anything was put
His cars and trucks were scattered with his puzzles and his games.
His teddy bear was stuck under Joe’s toy train.

The fight started one day when the boys came home from school
Jim took one look at the mess and completely lost his cool.

Jim yelled and cried and ranted and raved
“I can’t live in this mess – I’m just not that brave!”

Jim started cleaning all of Joe’s stuff
Joe messed with Jim’s things until they both had had enough.

Then something very strange happened the day of the great big fight
At the very same time they both realized that both of them were right.

Jim is still neat.
And Joe is still not.
But together they’re happy and fighting they’re not.

© 2006 Lynne Brooks. All rights reserved.