Chester and Chuck Dig to China

There once were two brothers named Chester and Chuck
Who were bored with their lives, for they felt they were stuck
In a rut of routine, in their one-stoplight town,
Where excitement and mystery seldom went down.
For their folks were content, 'cause this town was their home,
But Chester and Chuck were both desperate to roam,
To travel the world, to take in all the sights,
From the Great Wall of China, to New York City's lights.

So they asked, and they begged, and they reasoned, and pleaded,
For a taste of adventure was something they needed!
But despite the boys' pleas, their parents held tight,
And repeated requests would result in a fight.
For their mom despised airplanes, 'cause they made her feel ill,
And their dad felt that trips were a frivolous frill,
For he worked hard to give his sons veggies and meat,
And a roof o'er their heads, socks and shoes on their feet.
He couldn't afford it, the cash wasn't there,
And he had to tell them life was sometimes unfair.

So adventure was rare in their small, white-bread world,
Until one fine day, when a plan was unfurled.
Said Chuck to his brother, "Hey, listen up, Chester!
We don't have to sit here and wallow and fester,
We can still go to China, despite Mom and Dad,
Being born to those homebodies isn't so bad.
So, let's free ourselves from this ho-humdrum hovel.
We don't need plane tickets, just buckets and shovels!
We'll tunnel to China. Come on! I've a hunch,
That if we work together, we'll be there before lunch!"

So the boys went outside with their shovels in hand,
And dug and displaced mounds of rocks, earth, and sand.
The yard was a mess, but they kept getting deeper,
And the pile of dirt next to them kept getting steeper!
The boys' muscles ached, and they huffed and perspired,
But still, they kept digging, although they were tired
For they yearned to reach China, to explore a new land,
'Twas a yearning their parents could not understand.

So they tunneled for days, which soon wore into weeks,
They were dirty and sweaty, and both of them reeked!
But one day, when they'd dug 'bout a thousand miles in,
A most shocking thing happened: They ran into the Chins;
Two young Chinese children, a sister and brother,
Who also sought change; for their father and mother
Were also quite similar to Chester and Chuck's
They detested adventure, in a rut they were stuck.
But these kids wanted freedom, from their Communist home,
So with their pails and shovels, they decided to roam.

Said the boy, Xang-Lee Chin, "It's a pleasure to meet,
For my sister and I seek a life that's as sweet
As the syrup that flows from the maple trees there,
Where people can vote, and nobody is scared.
They can walk down the sidewalk, and feel no chagrin
At their choice of religion, or the hue of their skin,
For we heard Canada was a land of compassion,
Where patriotism is always in fashion
Where people are fluent in English and French,
Where it's not overcrowded, and there's no crippling stench,
Of pollution, and sewage, and people galore,
Where you have all you need, and a little bit more,
Where babies aren't left by the roadside to rot,
Where females are equal, 'cause back home they are not!"

Said Chuck to Xang-Lee, "If things are that awful,
You and Chang-Lee, your sister, can join us for waffles
And syrup, back home in our humble homeland,
This strange misadventure made us understand,
That the grass may look greener in a neighbouring yard,
When their lives are, in fact, often gruellingly hard."

So the boys tunneled back, with their new Chinese friends,
And as back home to Canada the kids did ascend,
The two Chinese children regaled them with stories,
Of their childhood in China, of both hardships and glories
Like the Chinese New Year, resplendent with red,
And parades, with huge dragons; using chopsticks instead
Of silverware, which became easy with time,
And a lot of the dishes there tasted sublime!

Since the route had been dug, it took just a few hours,
For the kids to get back home, and jump in the shower.
As for Xang-Lee and Chang-Lee? They moved in with the boys,
And they loved their new life, for they both found great joy
In the simplest things, that most folks take for granted,
'Cause their view of the world has been warped, skewed, and slanted
For everything they want or require is right there,
Like Chester and Chuck's dad said, life isn't fair.

But if we remember how lucky we are,
We needn't dig deep, and we needn't stray far
To appreciate fortune with which we've been blessed,
We can share it with those whose lives aren't the best.
Buy a meal for a homeless man, donate your time
At a local soup kitchen, drop some quarters and dimes
In a charity jar at a restaurant or store,
Some people have less, but because we have more,
We've a duty to reach out, a duty to care,
To make other's lives just a little more fair.