Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

Larry, the Alien Child

Have you met my friend Larry, the alien child
Who lit up Manhattan each time that he smiled,
And plugged himself into the world's power grid
And turned on the lights in Shanghai and Madrid?
When he turned his attention to Nome and Valdez,
He brought warmth to Alaska, the governor says.
The eskimos cheered and were all quite impressed,
For even the igloos were warmed by my guest.

And what of the cars that came under his gaze?
They ran without gas for twenty-four days!
Your father's computer and Bobby's new toy -
All ran without wires, to everyone's joy.
The world was astonished, and none can deny
That the end to our troubles at last had drawn nigh,
For with Larry plugged in there was power galore;
In only one month we'd have excess to store.

I'm not sure where he came from in far outer-space,
Or how he arrived in this backwater place,
But it didn't take long for kings and dictators
To try to make contact (through U.N. translators).
They all wanted Larry to work for their nations -
To wire him up to their own power stations
And hoard all the energy just for their need;
So they came by the dozens to beg and to plead.

But Larry was shy, and spoke only to me
For I was his friend and companion, you see -
And all the world's leaders and stuffy big-wigs
To this alien child, weren't worth a dried fig.
He just wanted to play, and to laugh and have fun;
He played PayDay and Risk (and consistently won) -
Checkers and chess were more games that he found
And my friend was so good that he lost not a round!

But then came the agents with tasers and guns,
And brought to an end all of Larry's great fun.
They broke through defenses and took him that day;
They trussed him all up and they drove him away,
And hooked up the leads to each finger and toe,
And used him to set all their cities aglow.
All the world was perplexed by this tragic abduction
And suspected a mole who caused Larry's destruction.

I wish I could tell you it turned out all right,
But sometimes I wake in the midst of the night,
With limbs all a-twitching and sweat on my brow,
And the need to confess just why and just how
I betrayed my good friend for a chocolate bar,
And forty-five cents and a Cuban cigar -
It's just human nature, and I have to confess:
I did it because I hate losing at chess.

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