poets, unite!
I'm going to be Officially Godparented this weekend, and thought I might read/recite a short poem to/for my eight-year-old hitherto-informal goddaughter. It's an irreverent family (even though her father is a vicar) so I'm an inclined towards an irreverent poem, though that's not set in stone. Anyone have any poetic ideas?
A couple of current candidates:
I Eat Kids Yum Yum, by Dennis Lee:
A child went out one day.
She only went to play.
A mighty monster came along
And sang its mighty monster song:
"I EAT KIDS YUM YUM!
I STUFF THEM DOWN MY TUM.
I ONLY LEAVE THE TEETH AND CLOTHES.
(I SPECIALLY LIKE THE TOES.)"
The child was not amused.
She stood there and refused.
Then with a skip and a little twirl
She sang the song of a hungry girl:
"I EAT MONSTERS BURP!
THEY MAKE ME SQUEAL AND SLURP.
IT'S TIME TO CHOMP AND TAKE A CHEW--
AND WHAT I'LL CHEW IS YOU!"
The monster ran like that!
It didn't stop to chat.
(The child went skipping home again
And ate her brother's model train.)
Rules and Regulations, by Lewis Carroll:
A short direction
To avoid dejection,
By variations
In occupations,
And prolongation
Of relaxation,
And combinations
Of recreations,
And disputation
On the state of the nation
In adaptation
To your station,
By invitations
To friends and relations,
By evitation
Of amputation,
By permutation
In conversation,
And deep reflection
You'll avoid dejection.
Learn well your grammar,
And never stammer,
Write well and neatly,
And sing most sweetly,
Be enterprising,
Love early rising,
Go walk of six miles,
Have ready quick smiles,
With lightsome laughter,
Soft flowing after.
Drink tea, not coffee;
Never eat toffy.
Eat bread with butter.
Once more, don't stutter.
Don't waste your money,
Abstain from honey.
Shut doors behind you,
(Don't slam them, mind you.)
Drink beer, not porter.
Don't enter the water
Till to swim you are able.
Sit close to the table.
Take care of a candle.
Shut a door by the handle,
Don't push with your shoulder
Until you are older.
Lose not a button.
Refuse cold mutton.
Starve your canaries.
Believe in fairies.
If you are able,
Don't have a stable
With any mangers.
Be rude to strangers.
A couple of current candidates:
I Eat Kids Yum Yum, by Dennis Lee:
A child went out one day.
She only went to play.
A mighty monster came along
And sang its mighty monster song:
"I EAT KIDS YUM YUM!
I STUFF THEM DOWN MY TUM.
I ONLY LEAVE THE TEETH AND CLOTHES.
(I SPECIALLY LIKE THE TOES.)"
The child was not amused.
She stood there and refused.
Then with a skip and a little twirl
She sang the song of a hungry girl:
"I EAT MONSTERS BURP!
THEY MAKE ME SQUEAL AND SLURP.
IT'S TIME TO CHOMP AND TAKE A CHEW--
AND WHAT I'LL CHEW IS YOU!"
The monster ran like that!
It didn't stop to chat.
(The child went skipping home again
And ate her brother's model train.)
Rules and Regulations, by Lewis Carroll:
A short direction
To avoid dejection,
By variations
In occupations,
And prolongation
Of relaxation,
And combinations
Of recreations,
And disputation
On the state of the nation
In adaptation
To your station,
By invitations
To friends and relations,
By evitation
Of amputation,
By permutation
In conversation,
And deep reflection
You'll avoid dejection.
Learn well your grammar,
And never stammer,
Write well and neatly,
And sing most sweetly,
Be enterprising,
Love early rising,
Go walk of six miles,
Have ready quick smiles,
With lightsome laughter,
Soft flowing after.
Drink tea, not coffee;
Never eat toffy.
Eat bread with butter.
Once more, don't stutter.
Don't waste your money,
Abstain from honey.
Shut doors behind you,
(Don't slam them, mind you.)
Drink beer, not porter.
Don't enter the water
Till to swim you are able.
Sit close to the table.
Take care of a candle.
Shut a door by the handle,
Don't push with your shoulder
Until you are older.
Lose not a button.
Refuse cold mutton.
Starve your canaries.
Believe in fairies.
If you are able,
Don't have a stable
With any mangers.
Be rude to strangers.