For Sale
One sister for sale! One sister for sale! One crying and spying young sister for sale! I’m really not kidding, So who’ll start the bidding? Do I hear the dollar? A nickel? A penny? Oh, isn’t there, isn’t there, isn’t there any One kid that will buy this old sister for sale, This crying and spying young sister for sale?
For Sale - meaning Summary
Childhood Bargaining for Attention
The poem presents a child staging a mock auction to sell a younger sister, using repetitive, chant-like lines that mix humor with mild exasperation. The speaker pleads for a buyer while cataloguing the sister as "crying and spying," which captures sibling rivalry, attention-seeking, and the speaker’s childish attempt to regain control. The voice is playful but slightly plaintive, leaving the situation unresolved and highlighting everyday family tensions from a child’s viewpoint.
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