The first of these amusing poems is called "Comment on Cows," by
Richard Armour. This poem must be a favorite of teachers, since the
only place I could find it on the Web was on the personal homepage of
an English teacher!
Comment on Cows
by Richard Armour
Cows
Do nothing but browse
And drowse
And now and then moo.
That's all they do.
Yet even while grazing
They aren't lazing.
Even while snacking
They aren't lacking.
If not illustrious,
They are inner industrious,
Making milk with all their might
With every bite.
Cream too,
With every chew.
I'd like it fine
Could I combine
In such measure
Business with pleasure.
http://www2.wcoil.com/~keriandtrevorj/lessonunitplans.html
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The second charming verse is entitled "Strictly Germ-proof," written
by Arthur Guiterman.
Strictly Germ-proof
by Arthur Guiterman
The Antiseptic Baby and the Prophylactic Pup
Were playing in the garden when the Bunny gamboled up;
They looked upon the Creature with a loathing undisguised;
It wasn't Disinfected and it wasn't Sterilized.
They said it was a Microbe and a Hotbed of Disease;
They steamed it in a vapor of a thousand-odd degrees;
They froze it in a freezer that was cold as Banished Hope
And washed it in permanganate with carbolated soap.
In sulphurated hydrogen they steeped its wiggly ears;
They trimmed its frisky whiskers with a pair of hard-boiled shears;
They donned their rubber mittens and they took it by the hand
And elected it a member of the Fumigated Band.
There's not a Micrococcus in the garden where they play;
They bathe in pure iodoform a dozen times a day;
And each imbibes his rations from a Hygienic Cup
The Bunny and the Baby and the Prophylactic Pup.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Both Armour and Guiterman have written many other delightful comic
poems which are often collected in anthologies of light verse. If you
enjoy their work, you might also like the poems of Shel Silverstein.
And I expect you are likely to be an Ogden Nash fan already!
Thank you for a most enjoyable question. I had never seen the
Guiterman poem before, and it is a gem!
Before rating my answer, please ask for clarification if it is needed.
Bartleby: Strictly Germ-proof
http://www.bartleby.com/104/50.html
Search strategy:
Google.com: "prophylactic pup"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22prophylactic+pup%22
AlltheWeb.com: "browse and drowse"
http://alltheweb.com/search?cat=web&cs=utf-8&l=any&q=browse+and+drowse&phrase=on
Cordially,
pinkfreud |