Shell
Deborah Chandra
Come, press my mouth against your ear,
I hold a message just for you,
Deep inside my throat is where
It curls, waiting for you to hear.
Put there by the sea itself,
Who whispered something you should know
In shadowy sounds wound round my shell,
And with my hidden tongue, I'll tell.
Winter Wind
Judith Pachi
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Through cracks and holes I bore
then glide along the floor
looking for your knees and wrists
(necks and arms are on my list).
I'm winter wind shaking the door with both my fists.
When circling to play
I blow cold gusts your way
but all you do is stay in bed
or bundle up, sip soup instead.
Okay, then stay. I'll sweep away.
There's snow ahead.
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Scarecrow's Dream
Nina Nyhari
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Let me land, oh Lord,
on a narrow needle of pine,
or a sheltered slope
where I can memorize
the trim track of a passing fox.
I want more
than a month before melting.
If I can't have
that long, quiet life,
grant me a sledged slope.
Or better yet, I hope.
For my swirling journey to end instantly
on the hot tongue
of some shivering child
out revealing in the return
of my tribe
Amen.
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I'm Up Here
Karla Kuskin
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I'm up here.
You're down there.
And nothing in that between us
But a mile of air.
Where I sail:
Clouds pass.
Where you run
Green grass.
Where I float:
Birds sing.
One thin thing there is
That holds us close together:
Kite string.
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Being a Kite
Jaqueline Sweeney
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Scarecrow's Dream
Nina Nyhari
I think it's June --
crows landing in black waves.
Farmer arrives with his .22.
Stop, I say. And put away
that gun, I'll handle this.
Farmer shrugs, strides off.
For once I'm boss, and we're
a circle of friends. We discuss,
make deals: a little corn --
a little reticence. Come at night --
save your life. Peaceable
kingdom I'm thinking when
I feel a step on my shoulder,
the first peck in my eye.
Prayer of a Snowflakes
Cynthia PadersonLet me land, oh Lord,
on a narrow needle of pine,
or a sheltered slope
where I can memorize
the trim track of a passing fox.
I want more
than a month before melting.
If I can't have
that long, quiet life,
grant me a sledged slope.
Or better yet, I hope.
For my swirling journey to end instantly
on the hot tongue
of some shivering child
out revealing in the return
of my tribe
Amen.
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I'm Up Here
Karla Kuskin
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You're down there.
And nothing in that between us
But a mile of air.
Where I sail:
Clouds pass.
Where you run
Green grass.
Where I float:
Birds sing.
One thin thing there is
That holds us close together:
Kite string.
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Being a Kite
Jaqueline Sweeney
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If I were a kite
I'd kneel,
stretched my skinny arms
out wide,
and wait for wind.
My yellow shirt would
fill up like a sail
and flap,
tagging my criss- crossed
wooden bones and me
towards seas of clouds.
My rippling paper skin
would rustle like applause
as I inhaled,
gulping one last gust
to swoop me giddy- quick
above the trees.
My red rag tail
would drift
toward everything green
to balance me
so all day
I could loop and climb
loop and climb
and sour
into pure sky.
Broom
Tony Jonstone
I am a trusted consort
of floors, accomplice
of water and swash,
confidant of corners
where skulks shifty, fugitive
trash.
I am blunt whisker,
ghost- voiced shadow- sweeper
(suspicious of the dark),
collector of exquisite
scraps.
confessor to expiring flies,
seeker- of- the- lost,
keeper- of- the- uncherished,
the crushed.
I shared the deepest secrets
of the dust.
Dirty Laundry Pile
Marcy Barack Black
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Ignore me now
On the floor
By the door.
But you'll notice
When I swell
By my smell.
The Vacuum Cleaner's Revenge
Patricia Hubell
I much. I much.
I zoom. I roar.
I clatter-clark
Across the floor.
I swallow twigs.
I slurp dead bugs.
I suck the cat hair
From the rugs.
My stomach full
Of dirt and dust
I gulp another
Pizza crust.
A tiresome life-
All work, no play-
I think I'll swallow you today!
Lions
Near an ancient standing baobab tree
The lion sits with burning mane
He looks all around
But makes no sounds,
In the heat of African plain.
Behind, in the grey and cooling shade,
The rest of the pride is lying.
After the kill
They have eaten their fill
And now sleep the safe sleep of the lion
Tomorrow they will awaken refresh,
As a new day breaks over the plain,
And they'll sleekly rise
With death in their eyes,
To start the hunt over again.
The Eagle
He clasps the crag with crooked hands
Closed to the sun in lonely lands
Ringed with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls
He watches from his mountain walls
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
Robin-A-Bobbin
Robin-a-bobbin
He bent his bow
Shot at a pigeon
And killed a crow
Shot at another
And killed his own brother
Did robin-a-bobbin
When he bent his bow
Magpies
One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a kiss,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret
Never to be told,
Eight for a letter
From over the sea,
Nine for a lover
As true as can be.
The Ptarmigan
The ptarmigan is strange,
The strangest bird to see,
Never sits on ptelephone poles
Or roots up in a ptree.
But by the way she ptakes pto spelling
Is the strangest pthing pto me.
The Tiger
Tiger! Tiger! Burning bright
In the forest of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame your fearful symmetry?
In what distance deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of your eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder, and what art,
Could twist the sinews of your heart?
And, when your heart began to beat,
What dread hand? And what dread feet?
What a hammer? What a chain?
In what furnace was your brain?
What an anvil? What dead grasp
Dare its deadly terror clasp?
When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered Heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who make the lamb make you?
Tiger! Tiger! Burning bright
In the forest of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame your fearful symmetry?
Who'd be a Juggler?
Last night, in front of thousand of people,
He placed a pencil on his nose
And balanced a chair upright on it
While he spun a dozen plates behind his back.
Then he slowly stood on his head a book
At the same time as he transferred the lot
To the big toe of his left foot.
They said that it was impossible.
This morning, in our own kitchen,
I ask him to help with washing up
So he gets up, knocks over a chair,
Trips over a cat, swears and drops the try
And smashes the whole blooming lot!
You wouldn't think it was possible.
Little Child
Little child
Playing hopscotch all alone.
Can't you find another little one
To be your playmate?
Child
Child,
Don't sit there moping,
Feed your pet dog,
Do something.
Doll with a missing arm
Doll with a missing arm,
They tell me you're a cripple
And I should throw you away.
They don't know I truly love you,
And will never part with you.
Life
Life, they say, is like a wheel,
It has its ups and downs.
It seems our wheel's got stuck,
It is a standstill.
To get on top again
We have to work
Harder still.
Moth
A moth turned into a hawk!
Who knows what's to become of us?
To the river we're going
We'll go boating on the stream
And gathered kangkong.
We'll go boating on the river
And catch fish.
A dog has its Puppy
A dog has its puppy,
A goat, its kid;
My mother has her baby,
But me, where's my dolly?
Banana Tree
Banana tree
Lashed by the wind;
Clasp your leaves together
So your fruit will remain hanging.
Bamboo Tree
Bamboo tree
Squeaking as you sway
As though rocked
By the northeast wind.
Mango Tree
Mango tree,
How strong your branches are;
I will hang from you
A pretty hammock.
Rice-Cake Vendor
Rice- cake vendor, plodding back and
Forth, when my mother wakens
I'll ask her to buy
All the cakes you're vending.
The Farmer
The farmer has no time
For dawdling.
As soon as he opens his eyes
He has start working.
The first man and woman
According to the Bible
The first woman
Sprang from the ribs of the first man.
In our legend
The first man and woman
From a single bamboo
Breathed life together.
Leave things alone
When someone is angry
Don't add fuel to the fire;
Let him cool off
And then tell him your side.
Always running
She's always running
Although no one chases her,
She keeps looking back
Yet no one follows after her.
Why?
Why is it so lovely to behold:
The moon?
The river?
The clouds?
Flowers?
Peaceful Scenes
Farmer
Under the tree
Resting
Baby
On its mother's lap
Filled with loved.
Shy girl
In front of the altar
Praying.
Two old men
In a barbershop
Playing checkers.
In Our Gard
There is much merriment
In our garden.
Birds on the tree tops
Try to outsing each other.
Suddenly the quiet is broken,
The birds, frantic, fly in all directions
It is the cat!
Loose in the garden,
Ready to pounce on them
Pretty soon the cat, eyes burning,
arches her back, ready for a fight;
It is a dog! Having spotted the cat,
he decides to frighten her,
and forced her up the tree.
In time, a woman's voice booms:
"Dog, quiet down and let cat be.
Cat, you have mice to catch;
Leave the birds alone, let them sing
And give joy and hope to the disheartened."
Firefly
Firefly, firefly
Flickering, glittering
Like brilliant diamonds
Glistening in the dark
Crab
Why do I walk sideways?
Don't blame me,
That's the way my parents walk,
And my grandmother and grandfather
Walk the same way.
Lizard
Lizard, lizard
Don't it lick my leg
It tickles!
Two Kittens
Two kittens
Whimpering
Please give them
A piece of dried fish.
Butterfly
Butterfly, how brillant your colors are,
So like flowers
You shower with kisses;
Would the colors of my dress
Were as lovely as yours.
Dog
Dog in the street roaming around,
Go home to your master
Lest those drunks
Take a fancy on you
And turn you into a canape
For their small feast.
Noises
Rooster, crowing
Hen, cackling
Cow, mooing
Dog, barking
Pig, squealing
What a racket!
No wonder one can't hear
Birds, singing.
Sayings
It's the light rain
That muddles up things
The tiny, red pepper
That burns in the mouth.
The speck of dust
That stings the eye;
The quiet voice
That is heeded.
A Person Who Has Faith
A person who has faith
Always wear a happy face;
Her smile that comes from the soul
Is reflected in the eyes.
He Who Hurries
He who does things in a hurry
Often messes them up
A fruit that's forced to ripen
Turns sour, if not bitter
Mistaken Beliefs
There once was a child
Who was carried off to a barber
To have his long hair cut just a little
The poor frightened child began crying like so
Thinking his head would bleed
There once was child
Who was taken to a dentist
To get yellow teeth cleaned
The child, quite scared, shrieked like a piglet
Believing that his mouth would bleed.
Toothpaste
Who's been at the toothpaste?
I know some of you do it right
And you squeeze the tube from the bottom
And you roll the tube as it gets used up, don't you?
But somebody
Somebody here
You know who you are
You dig your thumb in
Anywhere, anyhow
And you turn that tube of toothpaste
Into a squashed sock.
You've made it so hard to use
It's like trying to get toothpaste
Out of a pocket of nuts.
You know who you are
I won't ask you to come out here now
But you know who you are.
And then you went and left the top off didn't you?
So the toothpaste turned to cement.
People who do things like that should....
You should be ashamed of yourself.
Hot Food
We sit down to eat
And the potato's a bit hot
So I only put a little bit on my fork
And I blow
Whooph whooph
Until it's cool
Just cool
Then into thee mouth
And there's my brother
He's doing the same
Whooph whooph
Into the mouth
Nice.
There my mum
She's doing the same
Whooph whooph.
Dama de Noche
Dama de noche
White flowers exuding fragrance
In the night
Sampaguita
So white,
And your scent
So subtle.
How fitting
That you should be
Our national flowers.
Ilang Ilang
Ilang ilang
With your unique fragrance,
Why are you used only as a pendant
For other flowers?
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