ADHD Lullaby and Pastorale

I. Lullaby

There’s a swiftly flowing river
Through the realm of my dreams
I hear it rushing over
I feel its gentle streams
And my sweet baby’s sleeping there
I know she’s free from sin
So quiet while I stroke her hair
She’s stoned on Ritalin.

She’s just a little baby
But I see all the signs
Of clinical ADHD
From all her screams and whines
I’ve had my education
In School Psychology
Now I can write prescriptions
For anyone I see.

When I first went to Harvard
I thought I’ld be a spy
The CIA paid great rewards
For Sovietology
But to my disappointment
Their empire fell apart
So we had an agreement
I’ld get a fresh new start.

And so my little baby
You’re under my control
The field of School Psychology
Will take away your soul
You’ld better not be lazy
And do just what I say
Cause I’ll say that you’re crazy
And have you taken away!

II. Pastorale


There once was an enchanted land
Where the good citizens made their stand
For liberty, justice, such a grand
Conception for the common man
They all had sworn that all would see
The triumph of Equality
Educational Opportunity
Was all that it should be.

And this important principle
Must justly apply to those who are ill
No Disability should constrain
Any child’s right to obtain
The skills and training that they need
To prosper in this land of Greed
For legislators know full well
In America, it’s every man for himself!

And the wise men who taught children
Perceived that there were special funds
Available to those with special needs
Not that they had any Greed!
But naturally, they had their share
Of children who they didn’t care
Particularly to have with them there
So maybe, well, they “weren’t all there”!

So they had this notion, if you please,
An “Attention Deficit Disease”
All their problem children gone
The concept’s so vague anyone
Is a potential sufferer
Of Hyperactivity Disorder.

And all the wise men knew the game
Across the land it was all the same
Exploit the weak, that’s how it’s done
That’s killing two birds with one stone
“We can control all that they say
While what we do we justify,
All the while making money
By making sure we get our way!”


© Copyright Jerome Raymond Kraus 2005