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Poetry Anthology

By: Rabbiea Manzoor

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Table of Contents:
Table of Contents 1
Introduction 2
Poems:
Early Bird 3
Somebody has to 3
February Twilight 4
Spring 4
Mice 5
Oliphant 5
Roger the Dog 6
Cats 6
My Brother 7
Poor Old Lady 8
The Worm 9
Enigma Sartorial 9
Undersea 10
Whats a Desert? 10
Cat 11
Dog 11
Bibliography 12

ENGL 414 Dr. Burke

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Introduction
The poems I have chosen for this anthology all share a common theme, almost
opposite. My first set of poems are almost opposite because one is taking place in the
morning while the other occurs at night, while morning and night are not opposites, they
are almost opposites. Every two poems are almost opposite of each other. This was an
idea I liked a great deal, its unique. We think of opposites being black and white but
there are many almost opposites that dont have to follow such a strict rule. The poems
are all geared toward elementary level classrooms and I could read any of these in my
future classroom.
There are some qualities I find essential in a good childrens poem such as,
rhyming, lightheartedness, rhythm, vivid, relatively concise and interesting. Poems
should be fun to read especially for children. While not all poems rhyme or should
rhyme, I think that primarily children's poems should, it keeps their interest and helps
develop skills that they need, such as phonological and phonemic awareness. These
skills wouldnt be developed without rhyming. I believe that children's poems should not
contain heave\y subjects either; they should be fun and not make a child sad. Poems
usually evoke a feeling out of you or paint a picture in your mind which is especially
important in children's poems, in my opinion.
The poem Poor Old Lady has many of these qualities about it. It rhymes; its
funny and it will keep the interest of the children reading it. Many children become
familiar with this poem at a young age and truly enjoy reading it. It has a nice rhythm
and they can anticipate what is going to happen next. This poem also has many uses
from an educators viewpoint which makes it beneficial and useful in multiple ways.

ENGL 414 Dr. Burke

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Early bird
Oh, if youre a bird, be an early bird
And catch the worm for your breakfast plate.
If youre a bird, be an early bird
But if youre a worm, sleep late.
Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends

Somebody Has To
Somebody has to go polish the stars,
Theyre looking a little bit dull.
Somebody has to go polish the stars,
For the eagles and starlings and gulls
Have all been complaining theyre tarnished and worn,
They say they want new ones we cannot afford.
So please get your rags
And your polishing jars,
Somebody has to go polish the stars.
~Shel Silverstein, A Light in the Attic Book

ENGL 414 Dr. Burke

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February Twilight
Sara Teasdale
I stood beside a hill
Smooth with new-laid snow,
A single star looked out
From the cold evening glow.
There was no other creature
That saw what I could see-I stood and watched the evening star
As long as it watched me.
Spring
Karla Kuskin
Im shouting
Im singing
Im swinging through trees
Im winging skyhigh
With the buzzing black bees.
Im the sun
Im the moon
Im the dew on the rose.
Im a rabbit
Whose habit
Is twitching his nose.
Im lively
Im lovely
Im kicking my heels.
Im crying Come dance
To the fresh water eels.
Im racing through meadows
Without any coat
Im a gamboling lamb
Im a light leaping goat
Im a bud
Im a bloom
Im a dove on the wing.
Im running on rooftops
And welcoming spring!

ENGL 414 Dr. Burke

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Mice
By Rose Fyleman
I think mice
Are rather nice.
Their tails are long
Their faces small,
They haven't any
Chins at all.
Their ears are pink,
Their teeth are white,
They run about
The house at night.
They nibble things
They shouldn't touch
And no one seems
To like them much.
But I think mice
Are nice
Oliphaunt
J.R.R. Tolkien
Grey as a mouse,
Big as a house,
Nose like a snake,
I make the earth shake,
As I tramp through the grass;
Trees crack as I pass.
With horns in my mouth
I walk in the South,
Flapping big ears.
Beyond count of years
I stump round and round,
Never lie on the ground,
Not even to die.
Oliphaunt am I,
Biggest of all,
Huge, old, and tall.
If ever youd meet me
You wouldnt forget me.
If you never do,
You wont think Im true;
But old Oliphaunt am I,
And I never lie.

ENGL 414 Dr. Burke

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Roger the Dog
Ted Huges
Asleep he wheezes at his ease.
He only wakes to scratch his fleas.
He hogs the fire, he bakes his head
As if it were a loaf of bread.
He's just a sack of snoring dog.
You can lug him like a log.
You can roll him with your foot.
He'll stay snoring where he's put.
I take him out for exercise,
He rolls in cowclap up to his eyes.
He will not race, he will not romp,
He saves his strength for gobble and chomp.
He'll work as hard as you could wish
Emptying his dinner dish.
Then flops flat, and digs down deep,
Like a miner, into sleep.

Cats
Eleanor Farjeon
Cats sleep, anywhere,
Any table, any chair
Top of piano, window-ledge,
In the middle, on the edge,
Open drawer, empty shoe,
Anybody's lap will do,
Fitted in a cardboard box,
In the cupboard, with your frocksAnywhere! They don't care!
Cats sleep anywhere.

ENGL 414 Dr. Burke

My Brother
Marci Ridlon
My brothers worth about two cents,
As far as I can see.
I simply cannot understand
Why they would want a he.
He spends a good part of his day
Asleep inside the crib,
And when he eats, he has to wear
A stupid baby bib.
He cannot walk and cannot talk
And cannot throw a ball.
In fact, he cant do anything
Hes just no fun at all.
It would have been more sensible,
As far as I can see,
Instead of getting one like him
To get one just like me.

ENGL 414 Dr. Burke

Poor Old Lady


Anonymous
Poor old lady, she swallowed a fly.
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Poor old lady, I think she'll die.
Poor old lady, she swallowed a spider.
It squirmed and wriggled and turned inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Poor old lady, I think she'll die.
Poor old lady, she swallowed a bird.
How absurd! She swallowed a bird.
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,

ENGL 414 Dr. Burke

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I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Poor old lady, I think she'll die.
Poor old lady, she swallowed a cat.
Thank of that! She swallowed a cat.
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird.
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Poor old lady, I think she'll die.
Poor old lady, she swallowed a dog.
She went the whole hog when she swallowed the dog.
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Poor old lady, I think she'll die.
Poor old lady, she swallowed a cow.
I don't know how she swallowed a cow.
She swallowed the cow to catch the dog,
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Poor old lady, I think she'll die.
Poor old lady, she swallowed a horse.
She died, of course.

ENGL 414 Dr. Burke

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The Worm
Ralph Bergengren
When the earth is turned in spring
The worms are fat as anything.
And birds come flying all around
To eat the worms right off the ground.
They like the worms just as much as I
Like bread and milk and apple pie.
And once, when I was very young,
I put a worm right on my tongue.
I didn't like the taste a bit,
And so I didn't swallow it.
But oh, it makes my Mother squirm
Because she thinks I ate that worm!
Enigma Sartorial
Lucy W. Rhu
Consider the penguin
Hes smart as can be
Dressed in his dinner clothes
Permanently
You never can tell
When you see him about
If hes just coming in
Or just going out!

ENGL 414 Dr. Burke

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Undersea
Marchette Chute
Beneath the waters
Green and cool
The mermaids keep
A swimming school.
The oysters trot;
The lobsters prance;
The dolphins come
To jon the dance.
But the jellyfish
Who are rather small
Can't seem to learn
The steps at all.
What's a Desert?
Anonymous
A desert is a hot dry place.
The sun shines down all day.
Lots of prairie dogs and rattlers
like to live here anyway.
Theres a tall and hairy cactus
that looks just like my dad,
especially if he wants a hug
from me and Mommy really bad.
Theres big old rocks for climbing
but the sun shines way too much,
so the sweat just makes you soggy,
and the rocks too hot to touch.
I see roly poly bumble things
(they call them tumbleweeds),
and lots of sand, but nowhere grass,
and I miss climbing trees.
Here they call deer antelope.
(In the song, they like to play),
and its fun to chase jackrabbits
to watch them hop away.
Ive had a lot of fun here.
Theres so much stuff to see.
But Ill be glad to go back home
where it's Mom and Dad and me.

ENGL 414 Dr. Burke

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Cant
Avoid
Trouble
Paul B. Janeczko

Does
Only
Good
Anonymous

ENGL 414 Dr. Burke

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Bibliography:
Where the Sidewalk Ends, by Shel Silverstein
A Light in the Attic, by Shel Silverstein
A Kick in the Head, by Paul B. Janeczko
The Random House Book of Poetry for Children, selected by Jack Prelutsky

ENGL 414 Dr. Burke

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