Poetry Appreciation Week

Why Nobody Pets the Lion at the Zoo

by John Ciardi

The morning that the world began
The Lion growled a growl at Man.

And I suspect the Lion might
(If he’d been closer) have tried a bite.

I think that’s as it ought to be
And not as it was taught to me.

I think the Lion has a right
To growl a growl and bite a bite.

And if the Lion bothered Adam,
He should have growled right back at ’im.

The way to treat a Lion right
Is growl for growl and bite for bite.

True, the Lion is better fit
For biting than for being bit.

But if you look him in the eye
You’ll find the Lion’s rather shy.

He really wants someone to pet him.
The trouble is: his teeth won’t let him.

He has a heart of gold beneath
But the Lion just can’t trust his teeth.






Arithmetic

By Carl Sandburg

Arithmetic is where numbers fly like pigeons in and out of your head.Arithmetic tell you how many you lose or win if you know how many you had before you lost or won.Arithmetic is seven eleven all good children go to heaven -- or five six bundle of sticks.Arithmetic is numbers you squeeze from your head to your hand to your pencil to your paper till you get the answer.Arithmetic is where the answer is right and everything is nice and you can look out of the window and see the blue sky -- or the answer is wrong and you have to start all over and try again and see how it comes out this time.If you take a number and double it and double it again and then double it a few more times, the number gets bigger and bigger and goes higher and higher and only arithmetic can tell you what the number is when you decide to quit doubling.Arithmetic is where you have to multiply -- and you carry the multiplication table in your head and hope you won't lose it.If you have two animal crackers, one good and one bad, and you eat one and a striped zebra with streaks all over him eats the other, how many animal crackers will you have if somebody offers you five six seven and you say No no no and you say Nay nay nay and you say Nix nix nix?If you ask your mother for one fried egg for breakfast and she gives you two fried eggs and you eat both of them, who is better in arithmetic, you or your mother?




Summons

By Robert Francis

Keep me from going to sleep too soon
Or if I go to sleep too soon
Come wake me up.
Come any hourOf night.
Come whistling up the road.
Stomp on the porch.
Bang on the door.
Make me get out of bed and come
And let you in and light a light.
Tell me the northern lights are on
And make me look.
Or tell me clouds
Are doing something to the moon
They never did before, and show me.
See that I see.
Talk to me till
I'm half as wide awake as you
And start to dress wondering
whyI ever went to bed at all.
Tell me the walking is superb.
Not only tell me but persuade me.
You know I'm not too hard persuaded.

Changed

Charlie lived his life doing the same thing day after day. Every morning he woke up on the right side of the bed and had two pieces of toast and one egg for breakfast. After that, he would take a shower and put on a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt. He always wore white socks and the same old white shoes everyday. It was obvious that Charlie was afraid of change. He had lost all his friends because they couldn’t stand doing the same thing day in and day out.
One day, Charlie woke up and realized something was missing in his life. He didn’t know what, so he continued on with his boring routine. That night, before he went to bed, he decided he would embrace change.
The next morning he woke up on the left side of the bed and had two pieces of toast with grape jelly and a bowl of cereal. He dressed himself in shorts with a blue T-shirt. He put on green socks and a brand new pair of tennis shoes. He called up his old friend Bob and invited him over. Bob greeted him with a hug and forgave him for all the years that he wasted. Then Charlie and Bob went out for dinner. When they got there, Charlie immediately took notice of a cute, young woman sitting alone. It took him awhile to gain his composure, and some courage, but he finally asked her to join them for dinner. She accepted. Her name was Mary, and Charlie liked her from the very beginning. She loved his outfit and agreed to go on a more formal date with him. Charlie was glad that he took a risk to change.

The Procrastinator

Katrina was a smart girl who always got her homework done on time. She worked hard in everything she did. The first thing she did when she got home was do her homework. Even on days that she had drama practice or tennis practice, she always got her homework done. Most nights she would stay up until the early hours of the morning just to finish her tremendous pile of schoolwork. She would wake up five hours later to get ready for another day of school.
One day, for her creative writing class, the teacher, Mrs. Hunt, assigned three parables for the class to write.
“You have five days to write them. They’re due on Friday.”
Katrina thought that was easy enough. She had finished all her previous assignment with a couple days to spare. She figured she could write them in no time. As the week progressed, she had only written parable that made absolutely no sense. At this point, she began to worry. Justina had finished all her parables before the second day, and Kailey already had a great start on hers. They were starting to make her look bad.
It was the day before the assignment was due, and Katrina was freaking out. She already had so many other things to worry about and a lot of other work to do. What made things worse was that she had a tennis match that day. The tennis meet would consume all her time after school, and she began to wonder how she was going to get everything done. In a panic, she thought about her options. Maybe Justina would be nice enough to write one for her…. No, that wouldn’t work. She couldn’t think of anything else but to just do it on her own with any spare time that she may have. The only time she had was in study hall that day. She immediately ripped out her notebook as soon as the bell ran. Her hand was screaming across the paper as she tried to finish a parable. The paper was covered in blotchy handwriting, but at least she had something to turn in the next day. That night, after tennis, she went home and worked on the other two all night. They were not good at all. Katrina was worried for the next day because she knew she did horrible on the assignment.
Before she knew it, she was sitting in her creative writing class and had to read her work aloud. She tried to hide her face as it grew hot with embarrassment. As soon as she was done, the kids laughed at her, and Mrs. Hunt said, “That was poop. You did not take your time on the assignment. You fail the class.” Katrina cried and never went back to school.
You should always take your time and do your best.

The Race

Once there was an old, rich man who had two sons. His oldest son, Joseph, was obsessed with money. He would like cheat, and steal to get what he wanted. The old man’s other son, Jachob, had many friends and was well liked by the community.
One day, the old man realized he was getting too old and didn’t have much time left, so he organized a race for his two sons. The first one that would cross the finish line would inherit all his money and land. Joseph was very excited by this. He could just see himself winning the race and rolling in the money. The people in the crowd would surround him and congratulate him. On the other hand, Jachob was not concerned about the race at all. He already had all he could ever want: great friends and family.
It was the day of the race and both boys were on the starting line. As soon as the buzzer went off, Joseph pushed his younger brother to the ground and ran ahead. Jachob slowly got back up, but, by this time, Joseph had already won the race. Joseph was throwing his arms in the air with glory, but nobody was there to congratulate him. Everybody was gathered around Jachob helping to brush off the dirt.
In the end, Joseph was very lonely and not even his money could help him. Jachob had no money, but he had friends that were willing to help.

Revenge

I was always there for you
To help you dry your tears.
I was your lean-to
And got rid of all your fears.

You were my best friend.
You were my rock.
I hated your stupid boyfriend
That used you like a dirty sock.

I tried to warn you,
But you would not listen.
What you did is something you can’t undo,
And, for that, I know you will always miss him.

“Let’s do something tonight,” I would say.
“I can’t, I’m busy,” she would always reply.
In sorrow I would state, “Maybe next Sunday,”
And let out a sigh.

My patience grew thin
As I saw less of her.
Competing with him, I could never win.
To her, he was always better.

All those years meant nothing,
And all those hours spent
Resulted in loathing
And my discontent.

You’re so naïve
And just a child.
He was destined to deceive
And leave you defiled.

I tried to pick up the pieces
And put them back together.
The pieces would not fit,
And now I’ve lost you forever.

He is to blame.
You can’t deny.
I’ve been dying inside
Ever since he came.

He must die.
He cannot live.
I will not let him tell you another lie
And let you be submissive.

I got my knife
And went to his room.
I took his life.
“They killed himself,” they would presume.

Nobody would ever know,
That was the way it had to be.
I never had to hide my shadow
Because I would always be free.

Untimely Death

The rain was crashing against her window
While she was snuggled in her bed.
She looked to her beau
And kissed his weary head.

He looked so serene
With his eyes closed.
They’d been together since she was seventeen
And two years later he proposed.

She loved him with all her heart
And would ‘til the day she died.
They had never been apart
And it was on him that she relied.

“I love you,” she whispered in his ear
And cupped his hand in hers.
He did not seem to hear,
So she continued to discern his features.

She touched his cheek
And she touched his lips.
He felt so sleek
Under her tight grip.

So peaceful he was
With his head on his pillow.
She loved him so much
That she wept like a weeping willow.

The sun started to rise
And the rooster to crow
She let out some sighs
And wondered what the day would bestow.

She went downstairs for some breakfast
And a hot cup of coffee.
She took a sip
That sent chills through her body.

She could feel something was not right.
It went straight through her bones.
What she found was a frightful sight;
Her lover lay still with unknowns.

The tears came to her eyes
And stung them with pain.
She gave him her goodbyes,
As she would never see him again.

She wept on the floor
And pounded the ground.
She ran out the door
And was never to be found.

His body was discovered with lipstick on his cheek
Of the girl that he truly did love.
The love that they had was truly unique
In that it sent them free like a dove.

St. Dobbs

Long ago, when the state of Montana did not exist, there was a young man named Edward Dobbs. He roamed the grassy plains in search of a new home. In the plains that he roamed, he found countless numbers of pestilent rodents that got in the way of his building site. In order to remove them off the property, he started a grand fire that swept clear across the modern state of Montana. This eloquent fire killed a vast majority of the rodents. After this, Edward Dobbs was highly esteemed. People came from all across the nation to settle in the empty plains. The population multiplied, and Edward Dobbs’ success is still celebrated today on March, 18. On this day, people often gather and build small campfires to symbolize the great fire and roast rodents on a stick. It is tradition to wear red and orange on this day.