Petronella Fazackerly Lies Here.
My name was Petronella according to the vicar who dowsed me in water
When I was a small babe, but I have been Ella all my life.
Ella from hell they said, often enough, because
Whatever happened I never wanted to obey rules.
I may have been some kind of fool.
But I watched the other children doing children things
And it was incredibly boring to be me.
I did not want to play with dolls or make up tea parties
The way that Christy or Cherry did.
I wanted to climb trees and swim in the river
With Tommy and Sam.
But they wouldn't let me.
Well, now we are all lying here in this old graveyard
And there's no-one left to tell my ghost what
To do so I can climb trees and roll down banks
And build imaginary dens to my heart's content.
I think that I, Petronella Fazackerly, am better off dead
And shall henceforth be known as Pete.
The prompt for today was to read the poems of Edgar Lee Masters and write one in the same style.