Grub and the Parkers

A demon called Grub once lived in a house,
by a lake in a forest with nary a mouse.

But one day his slumber was broken by noise,
of talking and laughter. It shattered his poise.

A trio of adults, a boy, and a girl,
secured his dominion in a flurry and twirl.

Placing suitcases here, and bibelots there,
they filled his bath of emptiness with cares.

This just wouldn't do, it just couldn't stand!
The native must fight for his land!

In once cosy rooms of silence and naught,
a painful mortality was now being wrought.

As the family, Parker, one evening sat for tea,
the demon Grub watched, and trembled with glee.

An idea had struck him like a stray tennis ball,
and gave him a wisdom known only to Falls.

The next afternoon old Nanny Winston, with her coat,
and galoshes, took a ride on a boat.

Old Grub had convinced her stern son-in-law,
to take the trip with her and manage the oars.

A cross word or two as the boat stalled midway,
came from Nanny's lips and spoiled the day.

Resentment rang pure like a bell in a church,
and towards Nanny's throat Mr. Parker soon lurched.

He arrived at the shore without Nanny in tow,
and told everyone she'd gone to a show.

That night Mrs. Parker found a girdle in bed,
and not one she knew, so to anger she fled.

Accusing her husband with stains on their vows,
she knocked the man into a permanent drowse.

She buried him neatly, in a pile of coal,
when young Master Parker disturbed her poor soul.

He did not see what she had done,
but still the demon Grub had won.

With morning's voice, the only Parkers in the house,
were Mrs. and the young Mistress.

The Mrs. now swung from a beam in the loft,
as Grub to the Mistress talked soothing and soft.

She was his favourite, her sheer hateful grace,
at nine years old evolved her face.

Her features and manner were white as the snow,
their reclusiveness kept in a harsh, healthy glow.

To a hundred years old lived Mistress Parker,
in the cold empty house, with Grub as Father.