Baby Shower Poem

My wife Claire and I are expecting our first child in early 2016, so Claire's mom threw us a baby shower at the beginning of November.  As thank-you gifts, Claire's mom got everyone daffodil bulbs.  Claire made an illustration for little cards that were going to be attached to the bulbs (see below).

On the inside of the cards Claire had printed directions for how to plant the bulbs.  At the last minute, I asked if I could instead write a little poem to go inside.  I sat down for about fifteen minutes and came up with this:

Daffodils

Thank you for coming to our baby shower.
To show you our thanks, we got you this flower!
Right now it's in bulb form, still packed up inside,
Like the baby in Claire, who's going to hid
Until the new year, when her cries fill our room.
Follow these steps to have a quieter bloom!

Take the height of the bulb and times it by two,
or three, or four, or five; it's all up to you.
Bury it that far underneath fertile soil,
And if you would like a small tip for less toil,
Make sure the ground's freezing is one month away.
Be patient and wait, and on one special day
Your flower will arrive in its flower form,
Just like our daughter will be happily born!

Sick Day

I am not currently sick, but it is spring break, so I had some time to finally finish off this poem that I started last October, when I was sick for a few days.

Another school year's in full swing,
The students are working hard.
When without fail, I hear something,
My classroom's silence marred
By the clearing of a throat, a cough,
Then some sniffling and a sneeze.
That night, Emergen-C I quaff
And beg, "Not this time, please!"
But soon enough, I'm coughing too
And snot clogs up my nose.
My energy drops from ten to two,
An ache in my head grows!

When I was a younger, foolish jerk
I tried to power through.
But all my germs tagged along to work
And my coworkers got sick too!
I've long since learned a better way
To deal with being sick:
I rest for one entire day
And heal up much more quick!
Instead of working a flat ten percent
Efficiency for weeks,
I lay in bed, it's time well spent.
One valley yields more peaks!