Tiny Creatures
I, the spider,
king of my web.
Bold and strong
and many have fled.
I, the mantis, stop and pray,
slowly pose for you all day.
You may find me in a tree
tho very few will notice me.
A walking stick am I
and I am very hard to spy.
A creature know by very few
they always like me when they do.
I am a hopper in the grass
you may not notice when you pass.
Leaves and things I quickly chew
leaving nothing left for you.
I rally am a harmless sort
but many would give quick retort.
I am a hone bee
many people like to see.
I pollinate the fruit and flowers
and spend many golden hours.
Don’t leave me out. I am a moth
and in your flame I may get caught.
I throw a shadow on the wall
but I am seldom there at all.
I am a floating butterfly,
light and gorgeous as the sky.
Many dreams have come my way,
what people’s hearts would like to say.
I am a tiny little ant
but unlikely to say can’t
for I do work much harder far
than people who much bigger are.
I am only a gnat
and get in people’s eyes like that.
But I am still a harmless sort,
I never do it just for sport.
I confess that I’m a fly.
I know you wish that I would die;
but I can’t help oh what I am,
it wasn’t anything I planned.
I am a little cricket
that sits upon the hearth
and I sing so cheerily
it always warms your heart.
I am a cheerful lady bug
and one whom everybody loves.
I have bright circles on my wings
and I am just a tiny thing.
I bring folks luck ‘most every day
then spread my wings and fly away.
I am a little firefly
and magically I light the sky.
When it grows oh very dark
you can see my flashing spark.
I am a little skipping but
and give a lake a fit.
I can skip on water
and I can stand on it.
I am a lowly beetle,
my shell is very hard.
If you look around
you’ll find me in your yard.
And so we often call them bugs
except the ones we really love.
But you must say they’re interesting
and many puzzling questions bring.
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Seahorses
The seahorse is a creature
most fascinating yet
and once that we have seen one,
never can forget.
They roll their tail up and down
to rise or yet to fall
and hold on to some seaweed
to anchor them so tall.
They come in many colors - -
red and yellow, green
and some are also brown
as ones we many have seen.
Some are very big
and some are very small - -
10 inches to an inch
would almost cover all.
They like to live in seaweed
and mangroves by the shore - -
they are an ocean creature
and hide there all the more.
They eat very tiny things
and suck them thru their snout - -
crustations, tiny shrimp - -
and do not let them out.
When the mates give greeting
each and every day,
they twirl around some seaweed
and then she goes away.
The female puts the eggs
into the male’s pouch.
He keeps them till they hatch
and they all swim out.
The newborn are so small
they hold with all their might
on anything they reach
before it’s out of sight.
Aquariums may have them
and we can stand and stare
at these darling creatures
they have for us right there.
We can see their colors
and watch them rise and fall
and wrap their tail
around seaweed which is tall.
Their skin is finely drawn
over every bone
and you can see the outline
of every bump and hole.
These fascinating creatures
are only like themselves
and we do not find
they look like something else.
We could stand and watch them
forever so it seems
for they are so graceful
and we hate to leave.
Yes there is a sadness
these darling creatures bear
for they are use for medicine
in Asia and elsewhere.
Many, many tons
are shipped upon the sea
to people wanting them
who pay handsomely.
And tho it is a sorrow
we must remember too
their life within the ocean
and happiness they knew.
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Along the Seashore
A summer’s day upon the sand,
walking on the shore
of the biggest water,
the ocean evermore.
The wind is usually strong,
blowing with its force
but on a summer’s day
we like it cool of course.
The sand is hot and burns your feet
unless you find some shade
in trees along the bank,
small and oddly made.
For the wind has blown them,
branches all askew,
and they are but remnants
of when there were so new.
You may see a sand piper
busy on the shore,
staying close to water
and the ocean’s roar.
Many kinds of seaweed
lying on the sand.
One is long and dark,
like rubber in your hand.
Driftwood piled by the bank
at rest from its long ride
on the ocean currents,
oxigencies of tide.
Bleaching in the sun,
getting very white - -
lying helter skelter
in the steady light.
Seagull fly about
and they swoop and dive.
Which one you like the very most
you really can’t decide.
Sometimes you see them sit
on pilings in the sea
and they are so beautiful
you wish they’d never flee.
Joy to find a crab shell
lying in the sand
with its reddish color
and bigger than your hand.
Once there was a crab inside
who sometimes got too big
so he shed his shell
and drew one that would fit.
If the sand is damp
you may leave footprints there
and follow your own tracks
here and everywhere.
If you are lucky you may find
a spiny urchin of the sea.
Even if his spines are gone,
it is very lucky.
A starfish may be lying
right upon the sand,
beautiful and lovely,
we look for when we can.
You may see a razor clam
with its greenish shell,
looking like a razor
that old times knew so well.
A round sand dollar may appear,
very bleached and white.
Some say it tells the Easter story
but it is different quite.
There may be small snail shells
to hold them in your hand
or make a necklace, earrings
if that is what you planned.
Sometimes there are rivulets
left there by the sea,
like a tiny river,
small and very salty.
You may jump across them
or sometimes have to wade
if they are very broad
but shallow on the way.
Tide pools are a joy
that we sometimes find
with creatures very small
and grassed to inside.
The sea does water them
with incoming tide
and keeps the creatures fresh
and brings them food besides.
So the treasures do go on,
treasures in the sand
that the ocean brings
to almost every land.
There may be conch shell
to hold close to your ear
to hear the ocean roar
and wonder how you hear.
These may be very large
far across the sea
and in the myths of gods
played importantly.
And in far-off India
you may sometimes find
Buddha lying on the sand
with his well-known smile.
A temple over him,
small and made of stone,
and you stand and wonder
where his thoughts have flown.
In a walk along the beach
you may find anything - -
a bottle with a message
or much larger things.
For the sea brings in
anything that’s there
and all unknown delights
may come anywhere.
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The Hummingbird
I am a hummingbird
and very, very small.
My colors are so very bright
for I am tropical.
I beat my wings so very fast
hov’ring in the air.
And I take the nectar
from any flower that’s there.
The Chimney Swift
I am a chimney swift
that always like to dive
into the tallest chimney
where I hide inside.
When evening’s almost come
we circle in the sky
then one by one we drop
into the hole inside.
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The Robin
A am a robin red breast
that everybody knows.
My color’s really rust - -
reddish brown in tone.
I like to peck out worms
in the cool, wet earty.
I hop until I hear one
and I get it first.
The Scrub Jay
I am a western jay,
a scrub jay so they say.
I am very bold
and chase the birds away.
So they won’t harm my young
‘way up in a tree
and have the yard all bare of birds
for it is just for me.
Even crows I chase so high
and they fly away.
I speared a cat for lagging - -
I am not afraid.
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The Sparrow
I am a lowly sparrow
but seldom am afraid.
When the bigger birds do fly
I do not fly away.
I eat up many insects,
leaving less for you,
Children like to watch me - -
sometimes grown-ups too.
The Cedar Waxwing
Cedar waxwings are so small
and very slender too.
They are a wild bird
tho they may fly thru
and eat the hawthorne berries
when they are very red
and come in flocks together,
these bright and pretty guests.
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The Cardinal
I am a cardinal bird
and I am bright red
to cheer you in the winter
when all the color’s fled.
I like to eat the seeds
that people leave around
and make a pretty picture
when snow is on the ground.
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Crows
I’m a great big crow
of farm and city too.
You may see me on the streets
hunting for my food.
I like to sit in tree tops,
very, very high
where I can see around me
or easily can fly.
I have a raucous sound
that everybody knows
and they can often say - -
There’s a great big crow.
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The Woodpecker
I am a woodpecker
with a bright red head.
You may see me search a branch
of a tree that’s dead.
I look for insects in the bar,
and underneath it too.
I peck away at anything
that looks like it will do.
The Mallard Duck
I am a mallard duck
that everybody know.
The see me in the parks and ponds
where everybody goes.
My head is green, my body brown
and light brown is my mate.
I tip to get my food
and do not have to wait.
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Seagulls
I am a seagull and you know
I live by ocean’s shore.
I screech up in the sky,
then dive for fish and more.
It wouldn’t be the ocean
without the many gulls
perched upon the pilings
and flying without lull.
The Albatross
I am an albatross
and fly ‘way out to sea
and sit upon a ship
to bring Good Luck you see.
I am extremely graceful,
gliding on the wind
and stay at sea 5 years or so
if it is my whim.
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The Puffin
I am a puffing bird
with a bright orange bill,
living in Alaska
or other island hills.
I dig a hole for my nest
to lay my eggs inside
and dive into the ocean
where many fish I find.
The Penguin
I live in ice cold places
where people seldom go
for I am a penguin
that all of you do know.
I hold my egg between my feet
for days to keep it warm
And tho my feathers look like fur
protect me all the more.
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The Turkey
I may be a turkey
and raised upon a farm
but there are wild turkeys
who may not come to harm.
I grace your festive table
when Thanksgiving’s here
and all do have a feast
and gratitude I hear.
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Canadian Goose
I am a goose of Canada.
and very big am I/
I fact I am so heavy
you’d think I could not fly.
But we fly long distances
‘way up on the sky
and have a V-formation
and you may hear us cry.
We usually go together
and often fly at night
across the whitest clouds
and moonlight in the sky.
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The Ostrich
I am an ostrich bird
but I cannot fly
but I run very fast
and sometimes like to hide.
I am the largest bird alive
and my eggs are huge.
I live upon the desert sand - -
if Africa I grew.
The Raven
I am called a raven
for I am black as coal.
I fed Elijah bread
in the days of old.
Noah sent a raven
before he sent a dove
to see if yet the water
was dried up enough.
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The Dove
I’m a dove of many colors
tho sometimes I am white.
I am in the Bible
on Noah’s hand alight.
Of peace I am a symbol
many countries share
and look at me for hope
that war is never there.
The Great Blue Heron
I am a great blue heron
that sits beside a stream.
When I start to fly,
unfold miraculously.
You may sometimes find me
on folding screens Chinese
for I am very elegant
and people sure to please.
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Emperor Penguins
Largest of the penguins,
emperors reside
in a coldest place on earth,
on the polar ice.
They are in Antarctica,
a continent very cold
and in the wintertime
they are there alone.
Seals underneath the ice
and also fish and krill
but upon the landscape
only penguins still.
Only emperors and ice
in this freezing place
with many storms and raging winds
written on its face.
These giants of the penguins
almost 4’ high.
They do not look like birds
and they do not fly.
Their coat does look like fur,
but feathers in a row.
They are very dense
because of wind and snow.
In the bitter winter
they get into a huddle
and slowly move their feet
in a sort of shuffle.
The one that’s in the center,
protected from the wind,
gets a chance to rest
for the forces on him.
This way they do survive
the bitter winter cold
with these moving huddles
and their heavy coat.
In March at winter’s edge
the emperors do mate.
but incubation of the egg
is left unto the male.
He holds it on his feet
very carefully
for if it fell on ice,
certainly it would freeze.
For over 60 days
in blizzards and the dark
he holds the egg upon his feet
with a determined heart.
He loses almost half his weight
for he does not feed
but mama’s gone to get the food
in the icy sea.
The chick comes in July,
in darkest winter night
just when she returns
with a seafood bite.
She puts it in her brood pouch
right between her legs
and it stays very warm
for almost 60 days.
The make leads toward the sea
to get a bite to eat
for he is very starved
and needs a seafood feast.
The young are kept in groups
while the parents seek
krill and squid and fish
for them all to eat.
The chicks do know the voices
of their parents well
and when they do trumpet
come running up pell nell.
When a little older,
the fledglings go to sea
where they’re on their own
completely, absolutely.
They must find out themselves
all about the sea.
all about the dangers
and what feed to eat.
When it is mature,
in 4 years or so
it joins the other birds
in mating and in growth.
In winter they may travel
50 miles to find
open water for their food
and their deepest dives.
They go very slow,
½ a mile an hour.
All their life’s ordeal
more difficult than ours.
If traveling downhill
they lie upon the snow
and push with their back feet
and like tobaggons go.
While awkward on the land
they’re expert in the sea,
these seabirds can swim,
diving very deep.
When they jump up from the sea
they go very fast,
rocker from the water
way up before they land.
For there are leopard seals
lying at the edge
but they hurdle past them
on the icy ledge.
And they may see a sunset
that no man has seen
or northern lights or stars
that in the heavens gleam.
For they are courageous,
hardy, daring too
to live in darkest winter
and to see it thru.
Emperors get along
in this harsh, forbidding land
more than any human,
more than any man.
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