JoAnn Early Macken

 

Red-winged blackbird, from up in a tree,
announces himself trillingly.
His song sounds to me
like "Tweedle-dee-dee!"
Ornithologists might disagree.

I had so much fun yesterday with my dog-training limerick that I decided to work on getting sillier today. In that early-morning daze that’s my most creative writing time, I thought about other animals and more goofy stunts:

          I’m teaching my camel to wink.
          It’s trickier than you might think.
          She is painfully shy—
          won’t look me in the eye—
          but sooner or later, she’ll blink.

          I’m teaching my penguin to sing.
          He keeps hiding his head in his wing.
          He hasn’t sung yet.
          When he does, you can bet
          it will be a remarkable thing.

          I’m teaching my zebra to sneeze.
          He’s very determined to please.
          He is such a good sport
          that he’ll shiver and snort,
          and he’ll sputter and sniffle and wheeze.

          I’m teaching my turtle to fly,
          and here is the main reason why:
          It’s not easily done,
          but I think she’d have fun,
          so I wish she would give it a try.

Why don’t you give it a try? An animal with a two-syllable name and the stress on the first syllable fits into the rhythm well. Here are some more options:

• muskrat
• eagle
• wombat
• walrus
• beaver
• groundhog
• peacock
• lizard
• bison

Remember that lines 1, 2, and 5 have three beats and rhyme, and lines 3 and 4 have two beats and rhyme. Maybe you can come up with a silly animal trick to teach, too!

I'm giving away a copy of Write a Poem Step by Step every day in April. The book is based on my school visit presentations and includes a simple plan you can follow to create your own poems. I wrote it for students, teachers, and writers of all ages.

Post a comment here to enter. I'll choose one at random tomorrow and drop a copy of Write a Poem Step by Step in the mail—U.S. addresses only, please. I’ll email you for your mailing address if you win. And if you don't win right away, please try again. I'll have 31 copies to share.