When I was a just little child,
to this day I remember,
a holiday we’d celebrate
each sixteenth of December.
My mother loved her history,
and thought that we should know
how patriots their freedom won
so many years ago.
She told to us the story –
how the colonists were mad.
Because of taxes on their tea
they acted rather bad.
To show King George they would not pay
they all marched to the shore
where ships were docked with tea inside
amongst the cargo store.
The patriots barged on the decks,
they split the boxes wide,
and dumped the tea into the sea
to float out with the tide.
And so each year when that date came
We’d all march in a row
up onto a small river bridge
where currents swirled below.
We’d sing a patriotic song,
then lean over the fence,
and toss our teabags in the drink
with greatest reverence.
My mother’s funny holiday
made us appreciate
how Boston’s rowdy tea party
had sparked a nation’s fate.
So if you ever get a chance,
on sixteenth of December,
just toss a teabag in the sea
to help us all remember!
© January 2010
Katharine L. Sparrow
