The Dirigible Balloon
Poetry for Children

The Wonk of Good Intentions

When something in our house is broken
We try to put it in the bin.
“Let’s have a look,” my dad says,
“We won’t need to get someone in.”
He grew up with very little
So it’s all make do and mend.
But his lack of practical skills though is driving us round the bend.

His work is never stable.
It certainly isn’t straight.
Kitchen drawers won’t open
Wonky hangs the gate.
His handiworks frankly look like dark age inventions
But mum says it comes from a place of love
She calls ‘the wonk of good intentions.’

A reverse Midas
That would turn gold into rust
The house permanently smells of damp and plaster dust.
Everything dad’s fixed is on a slant we shouldn’t mention
But remember, mum says,
Behind it all is the wonk of good intentions.

So this poem is for the do-it-yourself dads
And have-a-go mums
Who put the glorious wonk into England my son.
For those ‘We’ve got a problem here’ people that cry
When the next DIY job goes awry.
For those proud of their cock-eyed and crooked labours
That get by on online tutorials and favours,
Who stand back with hands on hips
sucking tut-tuts through their lips,
THIS. IS. FOR. YOU
A poem that also has a wonk or two.

About the Writer


Robert Dresh

Robert is a primary school teacher of many years who began writing to document and explore his love of silliness in daily life. He has made several appearances on BBC radio talking about children's writing where, on a segment on children's joke writing, he made a joke about bums. They have not asked him back since.