Derrick Petry

Blue Gum Derrick Petry

When little Steffi asks for blue gum, Papa knows she is too small to chew gum and tries to discourage her from asking again. Papa recalls a tale from his childhood (or is it a "tall tale"?) to dissuade her. When my daughter was little, she loved it when I read her Dr. Seuss books. I took a creative writing class in college around the time she was two, and liked to write poems that were playful and rhymed, much like those Dr. Seuss books. One such poem, Blue Gum, was inspired by my daughter's constant quest to chew gum when she was much too young. Nearly 20 years later, I convinced my sister-in-law to illustrate the poem as a surprise college graduation gift for my daughter. I hope you will enjoy this silly story I devised so long ago.