Mandy

Jonathan Griffiths

I had a little mandarin
I bought it at the shop
The Safeway store in Williamstown
A place I often stop

A gorgeous, juicy mandarin
With a luscious orange glow
It came from California
A place they often grow

I took it to the airport
To eat it on the way
But somewhere round the Ring Road
Mandy got away

When I got to Jetstar Terminal
I searched the car in vain
I searched for four full minutes
But I had to catch a plane

Then sometime five days later
In a room in Waikiki
She rolled out of my carry-on
As bold as bold could be

She rolled around upon the floor
She wagged her little tail
Back home in the USA
Justice had prevailed

Her skin was somewhat wrinkled
She’d lost her luscious glow
But I didn’t let that stop me
I ate her in one go

Next morning in a restroom
I set my Mandy free
I plopped her in the toilet bowl
And chased her down with wee

But that’s not where this story ends
A sad, aquatic end
It’s just part of her migration
As she whooshes round the bend

Who knows which way the currents flow
Two thousand miles or more
But I like to think she’ll wash up
On the California shore