Poetry by Sandol Stoddard Warburg
I like you
by Sandol Stoddard Warburg
I like you
and I know why.
I like you because
you are a good person to like.
I like you because
when I tell you something special,
you know it’s special
And you remember it
a long, long time.
You say,
Remember when you told me
something special
And both of us remember.
When I think something is important
you think it’s important too
We have good ideas
When I say something funny, you laugh
I think I’m funny
and you think I’m funny too
Hah-hah!
I like you because
you know where I’m ticklish
And you don’t tickle me there
except just a little tiny bit
sometimes
Stop!
But if you do, then I know where
to tickle you too
You know how to be silly
That’s why I like you
Boy are you ever silly
I never met anybody sillier than me
till I met you
I like you because
you know when it’s time to stop
being silly
Maybe day after tomorrow
Maybe never
Oops! Too late,
it’s a quarter past silly
We fool around the same way all the time
Sometimes we don’t say a word
We snurkle under fences
We spy secret places
If I am a goofus on the roofus
hollering my head off
You are one too
If I pretend I am drowning,
you pretend you are saving me
If I am getting ready to pop a paper bag,
then you are getting ready to jump
HOORAY
That’s because you really like me
You really like me, don’t you
And I really like you back
And you like me back and I like you back
And that’s the way we keep on going every day
If you go away, then I go away too
or if I stay home, you send me a postcard
You don’t just say
Well see you around sometime, bye
I like you a lot because of that
If I go away, I send you a postcard too
And I like you because if we go away together
And if we are in Grand Central Station
And if I get lost
Then you are the one that is yelling for me
And I like you because when I am feeling sad
You don’t always cheer me up right away
Sometimes it is better to be sad
You can’t stand the others being
so googly and gaggly
every single minute
You want to think about things
It takes time
I like you because if I am mad at you
Then you are mad at me too
It’s awful when the other person isn’t
They are so nice and hoo-hoo
you could just about punch them in the nose
I like you because
if I think I am going to throw up
then you are really sorry
You don’t just pretend you are busy
looking at the birdies and all that
You say, maybe it was something you ate
You say, the same thing happened to me one time
And the same thing did
If you find two four-leaf clovers,
you give me one
If I find four, I give you two
If we only find three, we keep on looking
Sometimes we have good luck,
and sometimes we don’t
If I break my arm,
and if you break your arm too
Then it’s fun to have a broken arm
I tell you about mine, you tell me about yours
We are both sorry
We write our names and draw pictures
We show everybody and they wish they had a broken arm too
I like you because I don’t know why but
Everything that happens is nicer with you
I can’t remember when I didn’t like you
It must have been lonesome then
I like you because because because
I forget why I like you but I do
So many reasons
On the 4th of July I like you
because it’s the 4th of July
On the fifth of July, I like you too
If you and I had some drums
and some horns and some horses
If we had some hats and some flags
and some fire engines
We could be a HOLIDAY
We could be a CELEBRATION
We could be a WHOLE PARADE
See what I mean?
Even if it was the 999th of July
Even if it was August
Even if it was way down at the bottom of November
Even if it was no place particular in January
I would go on choosing you
And you would go on choosing me
Over and over again
That’s how it would happen every time
I don’t know why
I guess I don’t know why I really like you
Why do I like you
I guess I just like you
I guess I just like you because I like you.