POEMS FOR KIDS

THE DOG AND THE CAT

There was a dog who loved a cat.
Now what do you think of that?

Every day when they would play
the dog would worry and say:

I'm supposed to fight you,
but I don't want to bite you.

When I don't see you, I miss you.
All I want to do is kiss you.

But a dog is not supposed to love a cat...
I just don't know what to think of that

Dear Dog, said the smiling cat,
let's have a little chat.

I'm so lucky I found you;
and you feel the same way, too.

So, said Cat, let's leave it at that!

Now, rub your whiskers up against mine
and promise you'll be my Valentine.

You are so right, Dog did declare,
I'm so delighted that we're a pair.

So they stood there holding paws
while their friends clapped applause.




A FISH NAMED WALLY

A fish named Wally living in a lake
decided he must make his break.

He thought he must swin to the sea
in order to be really free.

Even though his friends said, "Dope!"
he swam along with a surge of hope.

But the sea was salty and very rough.
Wally said, "I'm not used to this stuff.

Oh dear, I have got my wish
but now I am one seasick fish.

And my fins are turning pink.
I don't know what to think!"

Wally remembered his other home,
wondering why he had to roam,
and his heart started to ache
dreaming of his lovely lake.




TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING

Mickey's Mom
had a green thumb.
She planted seeds of every type--
before you knew it, they were green and ripe.
From her every whim,
Mickey knew, grew a stem.
All she needed was a pot and mud
and within a week she had a bud.

"Don't you know," said Mickey's Mom,
"every flower is your chum.
Each one is a work of art
bringing joy to your heart.
I love to watch things grow
and grow....and grow....and grow...."

But Mickey's Dad had his doubts
about his Mother's many sprouts:
"Roses smell so very sweet
but I can't taste a thing I eat.
And all these lillies
give me the willies.
The way your Mom sets flowers blooming
seems to me almost more than human."

Everywhere Mickey looked in his home
there was a plant starting to roam,
something green trying to crawl
on every window and wall.
And anywhere Mickey wanted to go
he must go on tip-toe
because something already there was trying to grow.

"So," said Mickey's Dad, "this is what comes from
having a wife with a very green thumb.
Pretty soon we'll need more rooms
to make space for your Mother's blooms.
I don't mean to be unfeeling
but I can hardly see the ceiling.
All these pansies and peonies
will surely bring us to our knees...

[A PAGE OR SO MORE]

LUCIE AND BRUCIE

A goosie named Lucie
fell in love with a moosie
named Brucie.

Or so she said--
and her loving talk
went right to his head.
And that moosie named Brucie
went about with his antlers held high
and a proud look in his eye.
But was Lucie's love a lie?

[ALMOST TWO PAGES MORE]

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I started off with the goal of creating a book of poetry for children called "Silly & Serious." I wrote about 50 poems that I liked. Now I'm thinking that many of these poems--mostly they are little stories, page turners actually--could be a book unto itself.

©Bruce Deitrick Price 2011