Tag Archives: Doggerel

BOOK: “Falling Up” by Shel Silverstein

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Falling UpFalling Up by Shel Silverstein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher – HarperCollins Children’s Books

This is the third and final (not inclusive of posthumous greatest hits collections) poetry collection of Shel Silverstein. The collection is considered children’s poetry and has the usual features of such (rhyming verse and doggerel, moral lessons, and occasional grossness.) The poems are generally written in a suspensive form with a twist, i.e. a punchline but aimed more at silly than humorous.

The collection bounces between whimsical and absurd and is highly entertaining to read.

The book has pencil drawings of matching tone for most of the poems.

If you like silliness and rhyming verse, this is fun read.

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PROMPT: Tattoo

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Daily writing prompt
What tattoo do you want and where would you put it?
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I would not like a tattoo. 
 I would not like one - old or new. 
 I wouldn't like one in a Zoo. 
 I wouldn't like one in a canoe. 
 I would not like one, 
   Ham though I am, 
 I would not like any body-spam.

Bear [Lyric Poem]

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Walking down a trail, I had quite a scare --
   For walking straight towards me was a big ole bear.
 It glanced at me, and then down at its feet,
   Then that speciesist bear had the nerve to cross the street.

The Tao of the Traveler [Lyric Poem]

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With a pack on my back,
 I lurched out of the known.
 Would I ever be back?
 Or go where I was blown?

Who can know where they'll land?
 Maybe on a distant shore?
 Or amid desert sands?
 Or mountains? Or next door?

That's the joy of a life;
 One can end up anywhere.
 Embrace chaos sans strife,
 And you'll live a life that's rare.

POEM: The Impulse to Self-Destruct

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energized by french fries 
Oedipal knife to the eyes
when all know the truth,
he still lies

takes without asking
burns while sun-basking
fidgets reveal  
attempted masking

always plays the ponies
rules with wicked cronies --
but, like him, 
they're all phonies

passes on a Big Mac
just to shoot some bad smack
opts to be skinny 
for his heart attack

POEM: Leprechaun

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I think I saw a Leprechaun,

but it could’ve been a deer.

It seemed quite mean, and was a bit green,

but I’d had a keg of beer.

POEM: No Offense, Mr. Mosquito

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Source: Wikipedia (Public Domain)

Hey there, Mr. Mosquito,
‘fraid to say, you’ve gotta go.
Sure, Black Death is on the flea,
but you’ve bought us fevers: Yellow, Nile, and Dengue.

And that’s just to name a few.
You’ve killed more folks than anything in the zoo.
There’s Malaria, Zika, and Encephalitis
that make you feel you’ve crossed a bus crash with arthritis.

I’ve never been to Rift Valley or the West Nile;
yet I fear their fevers but not their crocodiles.
Because, like Amazon, you deliver
a thousand miles from the river.

So, I guess I’ll go and get my shots,
and if our paths cross — expect some swats.
Cause when it comes to blood-sucking creatures,
I’d rather have leaches in my breeches.