Happy in my palace,
I sat upon the throne,
Ruler of a kingdom
That I could call my own.
Then came the news that changed my mood,
From satisfied to riled.
For I had never reckoned
On the inconvenient child.

Wise men tried to counsel me
To celebrate the birth.
They simply had no concept
Of what my reign was worth.
To do just what I wanted,
A future free and wild.
Every dream now threatened
By the inconvenient child.

And so I sent them on their way
To finish off their quest,
Assembling my resources,
I vowed to never rest
Till I had finished off the one,
That left them so beguiled.
And terminated, once for all,
The inconvenient child.

It took some time, I’ll tell you,
And some persuading, too.
But once the deed was over,
I’m confident she knew
Our lives would be much brighter,
That difference reconciled.
And we could both forget about
The inconvenient child.

Still sometimes without warning,
I wake up from my sleep.
I find her pillow empty,
And hear my Rachel weep.
And even though she says she’s fine.
I cannot make her smile.
I fear the tears that fall
Are for the inconvenient child.

Bob Hartman, who has pastored churches in Pittsburgh and in England, is now an internationally-known story-teller and speaker. He has taught Bible storytelling throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He is is the author of many books, including The Playalong Bible and The Wolf Who Cried Boy. His last article for The Stream was Want Your Children to Love the Bible? Make Them Play With It.