Our closest relative, the Chimpanzee
Lacks our affinity to be fancy.
To them we are but pant-wearing buffoons
Who've lost all freedom to shoot the moon.
Chimpanzee [Lyric Poem]
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Category Archives: Lyric
Asian Weaver Ant [Lyric Poem]
There once was a wee Asian Weaver Ant
Who lived on a big banana tree plant.
When they cut down his tree, a problem arose,
Moving to a rubber tree would be too on-the-nose.
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Blue Sheep [Lyric Poem]
The Blue Sheep must be ever so sad:
For of all the colors in which its clad --
None is blue; there're shades of brown, black, and white,
But blue must be symbolic, if judged by sight.
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“Some keep the Sabbath going to Church –” (236) by Emily Dickinson [w/ Audio]
Some keep the Sabbath going to Church --
I keep it, staying at Home --
With a Bobolink for a Chorister --
And an Orchard, for a Dome --
Some keep the Sabbath in Surplice --
I, just wear my Wings --
And instead of tolling the Bell, for Church,
Our little Sexton -- sings.
God preaches, a noted Clergyman --
And the sermon is never long,
So instead of getting to Heaven, at last --
I'm going, all along.
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BOOKS: “The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar” by Paul Laurence Dunbar
The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar by Paul Laurence DunbarMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Available online at Project Gutenberg
As the title suggests, this is all the published poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar. With a career pre-dating the Harlem Renaissance, during which lyric poetry ruled the roost, Dunbar may not be as well-known today as several of the African American poets who came later, but it’s not for being any less masterful.
The collection includes a wide variety of lyric forms from simple quatrains to intermediate length poems of several pages. The content and tones also vary, and there is often a sense of whimsy in the poems that goes beyond just being lyrical in form. Dunbar wrote both in dialect and in standard English. He was a big fan of James Whitcomb Riley’s dialectal work, as a poem in Riley’s honor attests. The dialect poems are easy enough to follow and are a pleasure to read. Dunbar was by no means limited to dialectal writing; he also wrote in Standard English cleverly, and the juxtaposition of his very “proper” poems and the dialectal ones shows a great range.
I’d highly recommend this collection for poetry readers, particularly those who enjoy lyric and dialectal poems.
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Swamp Deer [Lyric Poem]
Everyday at an appointed hour
the Swamp Deer takes an anti-shower.
It hooks its antlers into the muck,
and with a twist and shake mud is chucked
upward, where it rains down on the beast.
It's stinky and slimy, but it's cool, at least.
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Cheetah [Lyric Poem]
A Cheetah can beat a Porsche to a hundred.
(Imagine the tumble if a clumsy one blundered.)
In fact, Cheetah's are so very, very fast
that your future is way, way back in its past.
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Donkey [Lyric Poem]
The Donkey 's known to be a stubborn beast,
But when one won't move - maybe wheels weren't greased.
I've seen angry humans push, pull, and tug,
But never give a peptalk or a hug.
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Pelican [Lyric Poem]
The Pelican, when it has formed a group,
Is said to be a squadron, pouch, or scoop.
I find that naming scheme quite puzzling;
Isn't its "pouch" where it keeps soup for guzzling?
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“To fight aloud is very brave –” (138) by Emily Dickinson [w/ Audio]
To fight aloud, is very brave --
But gallanter, I know
Who charge within the bosom
The Calvary of Wo --
Who win, and nations do not see --
Who fall -- and none observe --
Whose dying eyes, no Country
Regards with patriot love --
We trust, in plumed procession
For such, the Angels go --
Rank after Rank, with even feet --
And Uniforms of snow.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 