The Cracklims live inside the dark,
In the nooks and crannies of the tree bark.
In the slits of sidewalks and between the walls,
Waiting silently for a trip, tumble or fall.

You see the Cracklims like the space
Between the books and the bookcase.
They like the hidden, the tight, the narrow;
In those gaps the Cracklims will burrow.

There they anticipate, for a reaching hand,
Or a foot, or finger, a lost wedding band.
Snatch! Snatch! They grab, they grasp, they grip!
Eager and excited they are for a blunder or slip.

Most are harmless, though some are not.
Some have been known to devour tiny tots.
Cracklims so big they linger under beds,
Hungry for little wee ones to go lay their heads.

Some are bona fide kleptomaniacs,
Pilfering everything and filling sacks.
Basking beneath floorboards ripe with stuff;
These thieving Cracklims never get enough.

The Cracklims favorite things are toes and socks,
Hair clasps, pendants, papers and teeny rocks.
They like to nibble vests, boots, and mittens,
They like the dryer lint and the fuzz off kittens.

Many items Cracklims are fond, but not the light.
Adverse they are to anything glowing or bright.
Cower they do from candlewicks and matches,
Writhe in fear they do from any bulb flashes.

How many Cracklims are there? Who can say.
In the shadows and corners the Cracklims lay.
When things go missing, they are around;
What a Cracklim takes never gets found.

So little girls and boys, remember here,
What was said by your sister or brother dear:

Don’t step on a crack!
Or you’ll fall and break your back!

Pick up your room, pick up your feet,
Take care of your things, keep things neat.
Because the Cracklims are there, in the cracks,
To scavenge and thieve and bite and Snatch! Snatch! Snatch!