All Sewn Up

I must find a needle,
I must find some thread,
I know that I need them
Because mum said:

I want your room tidied and dusted,
Your project and homework complete.
I want everything ‘sewn up’ by lunchtime
And nothing left messy, just neat.

So, I finished my project and homework,
I cleared up the mess in my room.
I did all the chores, checked the dog was indoors
And logged into lessons on zoom.

Then I sewed all the curtains together,
The tea towels, the dishcloths, the sheets.
I stitched up the laundry, dad’s socks and his shirts
And the cushions were sewn to their seats.

Just as I got to the wardrobe,
Mum arrived home and she cried:
What have you done, have you done it for fun?
I’ve done what you said, I replied.

Mum slumped down on the sofa:
You’ve taken my words in vain!
I didn’t mean literally ‘all sewn up’.
So, I asked her if she could explain.

She said: ‘all sewn up’ is a saying
For successfully getting things done.
I didn’t mean literally sew up the lot,
Now what’s sewn up must be undone.

We unpicked the hundreds of stitches
And set all the sewn-up stuff free.
Then Mum lay down with her feet up
And I made her a nice cup of tea.

But later, when I bent over
To pat the dog on the head,
My trousers split open from top to tail
I’ll get those sewn up, Mum said.