Poems for Children

My Foot Fell Asleep No More Water Both my parents told me not to, but I did it anyway. Now our water tank is empty and the well went dry today. Not a drop is in the reservoir. The lake's completely dry. Everybody's getting thirstier and I'm the reason why. All the rivers are depleted. All the streams no longer flow. All the seas and all the oceans are devoid of H20. No there isn't any water, not a drop is left to drink, 'cause I left the faucet running and it all went down the sink. Kenn Nesbitt By The Fire You'd better warm your hands by the fire Oh, you'd better warm your hands by the fire Your hands are nice But they feel like ice So you'd better warm your hands by the fire You'd better warm your toes by the stove Yes, you'd better warm your toes by the stove Your shoes are holed And your feet are cold Then you'd better warm your toes by the stove You'd better warm your ears by the hearth Say, you'd better warm your ears by the hearth Your ears are dears But they're frigid ears Well, you'd better warm your ears by the hearth I Slipped on a Banana Peel I slipped on a banana peel and fell and hit my head. I slipped upon a patch of ice which nearly killed me dead. I slipped upon a roller skate and tumbled into space. I slipped inside the bathtub and I landed on my face. I slipped upon the basement stairs and on the kitchen floor. I wish that I could stop myself from slipping anymore. So now I only wear my shoes or boots or clogs or flippers. But I don't want to slip again so I don't wear my slippers! Kenn Nesbitt The Price of Love Money's not the price of love It can't give me your heart To bring me your affection it is Worthless from the start For money takes me from you Both to earn it and to spend When what you need's to have me close To help you learn to fend Kindness, too, won't steal your love Though many think it must: "If charity begins at home It can't create but trust" Yet goodwill flows from me to you Its path is one way only; It proves how pure and kind I am But leaves you feeling lonely If I listen when you speak to me And share your ins and outs If I smile your affections and Endure your angry bouts Then the hours that I spend on you Bring treasures most sublime; There's one thing that can buy your love-- The price of love is time Giraffe Calf The calf and the giraffe took half a bath The calf and the giraffe took half a bath But the giraffe, she had to laugh Because her calf was half giraffe The calf in half a bath was half giraffe Papa's Poems by A.A. "Papa" Talbert Illustrated by Salvo "Uncle Man" Arione Jimmy Jumper Where's your bumper, Jimmy Jumper? Maybe you're a clumsy clumper No, I am a thrumming thumper I don't need a jumper bumper Big Wig Pig Big wig pig wore a big pig wig He rode to the gig in his thingamajig rig Ate a big fig, did the whirligig jig And lost his periwig on the sprig of a twig Clunky Donkey The little funky monkey asked the big ol' clunky donkey Why all the others had two keys while he had only one key The big ol' clunky donkey told the little funky monkey That more than one key was too chunky for a clunky donkey Sniggle An Eel I jiggled the jig, he wiggled a little I wriggled the worm, he giggled a giggle I figured he twigged my squiggling sniggle So I jigged again, he just wiggled and giggled Now, I have no time to higgle or niggle With eels who will only whittle and giggle I jiggered the jig and squiggled and jiggled And sniggled that eel 'till he wiggled and wriggled * Sniggle: to fish for eels by thrusting a baited hook or needle into their hiding places; to catch (an eel) by sniggling Mamma Comma Friend Mamma big is bulbous soft Holds my little head aloft Puts her nozzle where I am Scrubs my poor polluted can Mamma stern and watchful frowns Catch me Mamma falling down Watch me Mamma climb again Climb-fall catch me if you can Mamma looking out the door Walking 'way don't want no more I'm big man now don't you see What' you doing watching me? Comin' home to Mamma's place See my Mamma's smiling face Fun how Mamma lets me roam Still can call her heart my home Know some mammas didn't do Half of what my Mamma knew Some think 'mamma', have to mend Mine, she's Mamma comma friend The Booty From Djibouti I've a booty from Djibouti A koala from Kuala Lumpur Found a part of my heart in Jakarta Saw the sole of my soul in Seoul I did the hoky-poky in the Okeefenokee, The london bridge on Choktaw Ridge Mamma wore pajamas in Bahamas Papa planted pepper in Culpepper They'd sing a song of ping pong in Hong Kong As Dennis sent his tennis team to Venice They did the hoky-poky in the Okeefenokee, The london bridge on Choktaw Ridge I'm gonna go from Ghana to Guyana I wanna take a tea in Tihuana Let's shake a mocha malted over Malta And raise the the jib and halter in Gibraltar We'll do the hoky-poky in the Okeefenokee, The london bridge on Choktaw Ridge Okey dokey, hoky-poky, Okeefenokee! Kindly Kangaroo If I'd a choice I'd choose to be A kindly kangaroo Or maybe just a wallaby, 'Cause they're congenial too Though wallabies, they wanna be The kind of kind we knew: To get us to be kind to them They're kind to me and you But kangaroos are kindlier Their motto is quite new: "Instead of being kind to me Let me be kind to you" So since I'd kind of like to be A kindly kangaroo, I'd like you to be kind to me By letting me be kind to you! Naming Game A ribbit's not a rabbit And a moo is not a moose A cheep is not a sheep And a goo is not a goose But a cheep can be a chickie And a kuk can be a duck A wolf can have a woof And a rooster have a cluck So you have to pay attention To the critters' naming games They may be named just like their sounds But their sounds are not their names! A Loud Loud Little Boy I'm allowed allowed to be to be A loud loud little boy Screaming "me me, me me, me" No matter who I might annoy With a sweat shirt that's a wet shirt 'Cause I dumped it in the bath And two muddy shoes to shoo away Who's ever in my path It's O.K. for me that it's O.K. To be a screeching bird Though I won't let any one but me Get in a word that's heard I'm allowed to yell out loud And give a blaring lamby bleat But I won't get into trouble 'Cause I'm so completely sweet I can badger like a badger And can bandy like a bandit I can pinch your cheeks and pull your ears Then smile like a pandit Be aware that I can wear you down And love to try to do it Its my only talent, hand-me-down, You know I owe to you it So remember when you want to scream And pull out every hair, That I'm only what I ought to be And it is only fair: That I am and I'm allowed to be A loud loud little boy Screaming "me me, me me, me" Although it's you I might annoy! Goofy Galoshes Oh gosh us no goshes And josh us no joshes-- Just slip off our slippers And on our galoshes! We'll watch as she washes Our posh mackintoshes-- They're botched up with splotches Of goulash and squashes Then don our oshkoshes And those makintoshes And splash us and splosh us In stashes and sloshes So slip me no slippers And slosh me no sloshes Just flip off your flippers And glom on your galoshes Marta, the Otter-Looking Thing Marta was a little baby otter-looking thing She had two little pink ears that were sewn with purple string She had a little blue nose and big eyes like milkweed blossoms She played at night and slept all day like other baby 'possums Yes, Marta was a 'possum but she looked just like an otter And like an otter liked to teeter on the teeter-totter She liked to swing the swings up high and slide down every slider And play at games like hide 'n seek (or was it seek 'n hide 'er?) But Marta had a problem and it caused her heart to ache: To find some one to play with meant to find someone awake Poor Marta played her nights alone And swung on willows weeping She played with laughing friends by day-- She played while she was sleeping! A Rabbit Had A Habit A rabbit had a habit of relying on a snake To deliver him a sliver of a piece of chocolate cake The snake, it had to bake it 'fore the rabbit could partake But the hossy got so bossy that he ate it by mistake Willy Wonder Roll wheels of thunder, Willy Wonder Pealing our poor eardrums under Booming gift a stunning blunder Storming through like rolling thunder A Funny Tunnel A funnel is a funny tunnel Just feet going one-by-one'll Make it through; each little toe'll Run through funny tunnel solo Hoarsey A toad jumped in his mouth, He became a pony, of course. He said, I've a frog in my throat And its made me a little horse! Baby Button Nose Did you button your buttons, Baby button nose? Did you tie your tie, Tiny tiger? Did you snap your snaps, Snappy snapper? Did you zip your zipper, Zippy zebra? Wood Would Wood I would bring in some more wood if I could could could But my axe just got the axe and it's no good good good 'Cause its edge has lost its edge now on the wood wood wood And its cut won't make the cut, not like it should should should Then I saw my little saw upon the pile pile pile 'Twas already at the ready all the while while while I did not used to use it-- 's not my style style style But I'll go give it a go once for a trial trial trial So I sawed some with my saw upon the stand stand stand And the bow began to bow then in my hand hand hand One big tooth was out of tooth it ground like sand sand sand But the rip could cut a rip just like I planned planned planned So if you would cut some wood to light the fire fire fire Then you might apply some might and some desire -sire -sire Don't be left out in the cold with cold, that's dire dire dire If you see a saw then saw, you'll be inspire -spire -spired Wallace the Walrus 'name is Wallace, I'm a Walrus I'm as fat as you can get My whiskers are like wire And my feet cannot get wet My tail is like a billowed sail My teeth can scratch my back My skin is thick as armor And my snout is like a sack I'm a Walrus, 'name is Wallace And I'd like to say hello But I'd squish you if I hugged you So I'll have to let you go Big Bum Bear Beware the Bear that's barely bare The Bear that's bare has got no hair The Bear's big bum is bare 'cause there The Big Bum Bear has got no hair Canoodle* In A New Canoe Let's canoodle in a new canoe Exchange kiyoodle with the boodle we knew We'll dawdle and doodle and paddle anew And kiss and canoodle in a new canoe Let's canoodle in the noodle soup Eat oodles of strudel and swoop the scoop We'll swap flapdoodle like nincompoops And whoop and canoodle in the noodle soup Let's canoodle in a blue caboose With a papoose poodle in a loose burnoose We'll vamoose from Toulouse to Syracuse (With Yankee Doodle on the loose) And shmooze and canoodle in a blue caboose * Canoodle: to kiss and cuddle The Skunk Stunk The toad rode The bird heard The magpie'd lied The skunk stunk Meander Salamander I can tell my tale with candor If it won't get up your dander It's about a salamander And his name was Alexander Alexander was commander Of the Corps of Coriander His colonel was a gander And their ranks could not be blander But Commander Alexander And his colonel, Colonel Gander Wanted Corps of Coriander To become a little grander So they told the Corianders To commence them to meander So as not to be bystanders And to make themselves look grander But salamanders who meander Won't be seen as being grander By a witness or bystander Who would subject them to slander Now Commander Alexander Thought this dreadful kind of slander Had been said by a backhander And he went to reprimand her He said Panda, you backhander (Panda lived on the veranda) You stop spreading propaganda Or I'll write some memoranda So this Panda, the backhander Stopped the salamander slander And the troops of Coriander Came to stand a little grander Now the moral, Salamanders To avoid the shame of slander Is to tell your new commander That your troops will not meander! Doctor Box A fox named Doctor Box wore rocks for socks A fox named Doctor Box wore rocks for socks When Doctor Box put on his socks His wooden chocks were full of rocks A fox named Doctor Box wore rocks for socks The Jama Man No one's nose knows what Papa's nose knows Papa's nose knows where the Jama man goes The Jama man goes where the Eskimoes froze The Eskimoes froze with their toes in the snows No one's nose knows what Papa's nose knows Papa's nose knows where the Jama man goes The Jama man goes where the Eskimoes froze They froze in the snows from their toes to their nose Handsome Dansom My, but you're a handsome dansom You've got bright eyed good looks and some If they charged a handsome ransom We'd pay twice 'cause you're so handsome Munch a Lunch I have a hunch we'll munch a lunch A hunch at lunch we'll crunch a bunch We'll drink fun cherry punch for brunch But lunch we'll munch, and that's my hunch Mac the Mouse Mac the mouse has no mouth He has no eyes nor tail He's just got stuffing, Huffing, puffing, And spins with winds in his sail One Less Than Love A dozen cousins came to lunch A dozen donuts makes a bunch A dozen chickens in a clutch A dozen doesn't 'mount to much A hundred houses on the block A hundred horses in the stock A hundred wonders on the earth A hundred has a little worth A thousand cows and bulls go moo A thousand ghouls and ghosts go boo A thousand hounds, they're all named Spot A thousand sounds an awful lot A million men civilians feed A million green reptilians breed A million minnows bite the bait A million numbers with the great A billion billed to master space A billion begats made the race A billion billion stars above A billion, still one less than love Nowhere to be Found I'm a gopher, not a loafer And I live under the ground If you want to know where I am, well I'm nowhere to be found I can eat a little dirt without A bruising to my pride 'Cause it helps to have a secret hole To run away and hide But if you want to meet me You can come into my burrow You will find it 'tween the gentle earth And tender friendly furrow Little Bus The little bus is busted And has lost its boot, to boot It had four wheels but now has three Its tooter's lost its toot So we'll glue the fourth wheel back again And then re-boot the boot And we'll toot that little tooter 'till The tooter finds its toot Three Trees in the Breeze Are these your knees? They look like trees They look like giant oak-wood trees Like oak-wood trees that come in threes And weave their leaves in the summer breeze! These knees, -- oh please, don't tease my knees -- They make you look like Hercules Or like you may be Saturnese Or like some thieves from overseas If anybody sees your knees They'll say, "don't knee me, if you please!" With knees like these you don't need skis-- You'll never sneeze and won't have fleas You'll fly with ease with bumblebees And chickadees on the high trapeze Some knees! Eighty in the Shadey My eighty year-old matey Lives in Haiti with a lady Who's named Katey Ann, she's weighty And she's eighty in the shadey My seventy year old pheasant tree For birds, is quite a pleasantry The pheasants sit there presently And will until they're seventy My sixty year old pixie Is named Dixie, and she's tricksy But she's strictly "mix the nixie" Fixing sixty sticks in Dixie My fifty year old giftie Wasn't spiffy, but he's thrifty; If the drift of life can shift he Can be nifty in his fifties My forty year old sporty Friend is warty and so short he Tends to snore, he tends to snort, he Sports his shorties in his forties My thirty year old birdie's Name is Gertie and she's dirty But she's flirty, curtsies purdy Pertly flirts with thirty birdies My twenty year old bunny Only loves me for my honey To make my bunny sunny Give her twenty pots of honey My ten year old pal hen Is my pen-pal in a pen When I pen my pal hen then My pen-pal pens back ten again My one year old's begun To run around and have some fun And though for once it's all for fun My son's the one who's on the run Tommy Tubble You're a tub o' trouble, Tommy Tubble Double worse than shovelled rubble Wobble through your hubble-bubble We all think you're tubs of trouble Dozen Little Cousins We've a dozen little cousins Swarming bees like honey buzzin' Can't tell which one was, which wasn't 'Cause we've cousins by the dozen The Zoo Man The Zoo man in the Zoomobile Goes zooming through the Zoo The Zoo man and the Zoomobile Zoo-zoom is what they do The Zoo man and the Zoomobile To see the Zebra sped The Zebra saw the Zoomobile And zoomed away instead! Don't You Chew Don't you chew on Papa's shoe Chewing you'll undo the glue And goo that new shoe through and through If you chew on Papa's shoe Don't you chew that rocking chair Chaise of Mamma's loving care It won't bear such wear and tear If you chew her rocking chair Don't you chew that choo-choo train Choo-choo trains, they can't explain That chewing trains makes them feel pain So don't you chew your choo-choo train Gett'em Ready Pants first, over baby's bottom Like all big boy babies got 'em Snap those straps -- almost forgot 'em Don't run away now -- there, I've caught 'im Look at those tiny turkey toes On with the socks, the red ones, those Pull 'em on 'till your toenail shows Into the shoe, that's where it goes Where's your coat for wind and snow? Put it on now, don't say no Up with the zipper, look out below! Uh oh, where'd that little hand go? Big fist, through the sleeve, nice and slow Now look at your hair-- Its sticking straight up in the air! It sticking straight out, everywhere! Let's comb it down -- hat on -- there Now you're dressed, you look your best Off we go, forget the rest Mamma, we're ready! All ready already? Already all ready! All righty . . . all ready! Get Steady -- Lets Go! No. 1 Won The one who won was Number One She's Number One, the one who won She's Number One because she won She won because she's Number One And Number One wore No. 1 So No. 1's the one who won The one who won is Number One So No. 1 is Number One Sense the Sea I'd seen a scene I'd sought to see A scene of scenic green But then I saw no sense in seeing A scene already seen So my scenting nose I seeking sent With eyes that sensing see To scent a scene that had not been: To see and smell the sea Now my senses all are sated Both my seeing and my scent Since I sensed the sea by sight and smell Where my eyes and nose were sent Pop Your Papa Don't you pop your Papa Poppin' Papa isn't proppa Papa says it's gotta stoppa -- Ya gotta stoppa poppin' Papa! Fishing For a Fish Everybody's fishing for a fish Everybody's wishing for a fish But everybody's missing That the fish are busy kissing So everybody's fishing for a fish Everybody's wailing for a whale Everybody's hailing for a whale But everybody's failing 'Cause the whales have all gone sailing Still everybody's wailing for a whale Everybody's crowing for a crow Everybody's lowing for a crow But the crows are busy mowing All the grass that's busy growing Yet everybody's crowing for a crow By The Fire You'd better warm your hands by the fire Oh, you'd better warm your hands by the fire Your hands are nice But they feel like ice So you'd better warm your hands by the fire You'd better warm your toes by the stove Yes, you'd better warm your toes by the stove Your shoes are holed And your feet are cold Then you'd better warm your toes by the stove You'd better warm your ears by the hearth Say, you'd better warm your ears by the hearth Your ears are dears But they're frigid ears Well, you'd better warm your ears by the hearth