Poetry Friday - Poems & Animals

          Tabatha Yeatts at The Opposite of Indifference hosts Poetry Friday today with a bit of a leaning toward German and Germany. You'll see! Tausend Dank, Tabatha!

          And be sure to visit Irene Latham's blog, Live Your Poem, to join her in her celebration of Octopus Month. Again, you'll discover more when you visit.

        I've enjoyed X.J. Kennedy's books for a long time, and mostly the one written with his wife, Dorothy M. Kennedy, Knock At A Star - A Child's Introduction to Poetry. This is one edition I have, falling apart, but it is still in print with a new cover. For those new teachers I mentored, this is the book I gave them to start them on their way to sharing poetry with students. Of course, others are favorites, too, yet I still love this one. When a poetry collection was donated to the bookstore by X.J. Kennedy, I snapped it up and would love to share it with you. 

       It is a bestiary alphabet book, full of animals known (bee, quetzal, snail), animals created (Ursa Major & Ursa Minor, minotaur), animals ancient (tyrannosaur), and animals real, but unknown to some, including me (Pangolin). Have you ever heard of a "Vinegarroon"? Pencil illustrations by Heidi Johanna Selig help visualize the descriptions by Kennedy, often with great humor. Here is one page with the poem "Alligator" and her illustration.

The Crocodile's a social sort:

In bumpy green apparel

Crocs paddle round their jungle pool

Like pickles in a barrel.

The Crocodile can smile with style

And chuckle kindly, too.

Oh, they're the friendliest of beasts –

In fact, they're fond of you!

        The accomplished rhythm and rhyme and alliteration by X.J. Kennedy make me want to read each one aloud and then admire his expertise. I did read a few to my youngest granddaughter who loved this one above. (We've had to watch for alligators on beach trips). Other verses (parts of the poems) I enjoyed:

Fly

How hard the fly is to surprise!

It sees you through each shoulder

With twenty-twenty compound eyes

And gracefully grows older.

Roc

You've counted sheep? You still can't sleep?

Try counting rocs instead,

For then, if you should chance to dream,

You'll have Rocs in your head.

       You can find X.J. Kennedy's bio at The Poetry Foundation here.