Animal Poetry 1

ANIMAL POEMS KIDS LOVE
AT THE ZOO THE TYGER

by William Makepeace Thackeray by William Blake
First I saw the white bear, then I saw the Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
black; In the forests of the night,
Then I saw the camel with a hump upon his What immortal hand or eye
back; Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
Then I saw the grey wolf, with mutton in his
maw; In what distant deeps or skies
Then I saw the wombat waddle in the straw; Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
Then I saw the elephant a-waving of his On what wings dare he aspire?
trunk; What the hand, dare sieze the fire?
Then I saw the monkeys—mercy, how
unpleasantly they smelt! And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
A JELLY-FISH What dread hand? & what dread feet?
by Marianne Moore
What the hammer? what the chain?
Visible, invisible, In what furnace was thy brain?
A fluctuating charm, What the anvil? what dread grasp
An amber-colored amethyst Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
Inhabits it; your arm
Approaches, and When the stars threw down their spears,
It opens and And water'd heaven with their tears,
It closes; Did he smile his work to see?
You have meant Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
To catch it,
And it shrivels; Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
You abandon In the forests of the night,
Your intent— What immortal hand or eye
It opens, and it Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
Closes and you
Reach for it—
The blue
Surrounding it
Grows cloudy, and
It floats away
From you.
Poems compiled by What Do We Do All Day? For more information and a list of animal poetry books visit:
https://www.whatdowedoallday.com/animals-poems
A BIRD CAME DOWN THE WALK SYMPATHY
by Emily Dickinson by Paul Lawrence Dunbar
A Bird, came down the Walk - I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
He did not know I saw - When the sun is bright on the upland
He bit an Angle Worm in halves slopes;
And ate the fellow, raw, When the wind stirs soft through the
springing grass,
And then, he drank a Dew And the river flows like a stream of glass;
From a convenient Grass - When the first bird sings and the first bud
And then hopped sidewise to the Wall opes,
To let a Beetle pass - And the faint perfume from its chalice
steals—
He glanced with rapid eyes, I know what the caged bird feels!
That hurried all abroad -
They looked like frightened Beads, I thought, I know why the caged bird beats his wing
He stirred his Velvet Head. - Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
For he must fly back to his perch and cling
Like one in danger, Cautious, When he fain would be on the bough
I offered him a Crumb, a-swing;
And he unrolled his feathers, And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
And rowed him softer Home - And they pulse again with a keener sting—
I know why he beats his wing!
Than Oars divide the Ocean,
Too silver for a seam, I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
Or Butterflies, off Banks of Noon, When his wing is bruised and his bosom
Leap, plashless as they swim. sore,—
When he beats his bars and he would be
free;
THE CROCODILE It is not a carol of joy or glee,
by Lewis Carroll But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s
deep core,
How doth the little crocodile But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings—
Improve his shining tail, I know why the caged bird sings!
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!
How cheerfully he seems to grin,

How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in,
With gently smiling jaws!
THE OWL AND THE PUSSY-CAT TODAY I SAW A DRAGONFLY
by Edward Lear by Alfred Lord Tennyson
I “To-day I saw the dragon-fly

The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea Come from the wells where he did lie.
In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money, “An inner impulse rent the veil
Wrapped up in a five-pound note. Of his old husk: from head to tail
The Owl looked up to the stars above, Came out clear plates of sapphire mail.
And sang to a small guitar,
"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love, “He dried his wings: like gauze they grew;
What a beautiful Pussy you are, Thro' crofts and pastures wet with dew
You are, A living flash of light he flew.”
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!"
[THE POND]
II by Matsuo Basho
Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl!
How charmingly sweet you sing! An ancient pond!
O let us be married! too long we have tarried: With a sound from the water
But what shall we do for a ring?" Of the frog as it plunges in.
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-Tree grows
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood [A BEE]
With a ring at the end of his nose, by Matsuo Basho
His nose,
His nose, A bee
With a ring at the end of his nose. staggers out
of the peony.
III
"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one
shilling
Your ring?" Said the Piggy, "I will."
So they took it away, and were married next
day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.
Title Author Illustrator
Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright Fiona Waters Britta Teckentrup
Dear Treefrog Joyce Sidman Diana Sudyka
Amphibian Acrobats Leslie Bulion Robert Meganck
Among a Thousand Fireflies Helen Frost Rick Lieder
Dear Wandering Wildebeest Irene Latham Anna Wadham
Superlative Birds Leslie Bulion Robert Meganck
Predator and Prey Susannah Buhrman-Deever Bert Kitchen
Won Ton: A Tale Told in Haiku Lee Wardlaw Eugene Yelchin

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ANIMAL POEMS KIDS LOVE

AT THE ZOO THE TYGER

How cheerfully he seems to grin,

I “To-day I saw the dragon-fly

Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright Fiona Waters Britta Teckentrup

Dear Treefrog Joyce Sidman Diana Sudyka

Amphibian Acrobats Leslie Bulion Robert Meganck

Among a Thousand Fireflies Helen Frost Rick Lieder

Dear Wandering Wildebeest Irene Latham Anna Wadham

Superlative Birds Leslie Bulion Robert Meganck

Predator and Prey Susannah Buhrman-Deever Bert Kitchen

Won Ton: A Tale Told in Haiku Lee Wardlaw Eugene Yelchin

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