She came into my small office,
Her fifteen boys and girls in tow.
How she remembered all their names
Was one thing that I had to know.

All she said was, “Sit down, Leroy,”
When they had filed in through the door.
All of them had quickly minded,
Filling the chairs and half the floor.

I said, “It must be very hard
To remember each child by name.”
Watching her, as she carefully
Filled in the blanks on her welfare claim.

She said, “Oh, that’s very easy,
‘Cause all of them are named Leroy,
You spell it differ’nt for a girl
Than when you spell it for a boy.”

“What if you want to call just one,
When all of their names are the same?”
“When I only want one to come,
I just call them by their last name.”