animal poem

I got another gig. This woman who goes to my church works at a local park and wrote stories about the animals there, and she wanted me to do them in rhyme, and then her husband will illustrate them. Here is the first one:

My name’s Casey rooster.
It’s important you should know
That I wake up the morning sun
Each day with my loud crow.

Then I make sure the hen house is
The way that it should be.
Each chicken sitting on her eggs
And clucking happily.

Boys and girls might visit and
So I will cluck “hello”.
Then gossip with the chickens when
Our visitors must go.

Cluck, cluck, cluckty, cluck,
Clahk, clahk, clahk!
Cluck cluck cluck cluck
Brack brack brack.

To keep the hen house running smooth
I get the chickens fed,
And then make sure they have their rest
By sending them to bed.

The chickens sleep real cozy at
The setting of the sun.
For I will watch and keep them safe.
My job is never done.

Dark and quiet is the night.
Most sounds can be ignored,
For they are just the silly clucks
Of lazy chicken snores.

But then I hear a noisy “CRACK”.
And, much to my surprise,
See, way across the hen house
A pair of small red eyes.

At first I’m scared because I know
This might be something bad.
But then I see it is a rat
And I just get quite mad.

“You dirty rat,” I holler. “You
Have come our eggs to steal.
You think a nice warm chicken egg
Would make a good rat meal.”

I got so mad I went into
A total rooster fury,
I crowed and clucked and spread my wings
And flapped them in a flurry.

Then, much to my surprise, my wings
Smacked on a leaning shovel.
And, much to my surprise, it seems
That shovel took a tumble.

And, much to my surprise, a “CLANG”
Went ringing through the air,
A tub was lying on the floor.
The shovel landed there.

The greedy rat that caused all this
Went squeaking on his way.
He was too scared to steal a nice
Warm chicken egg today!

And me? I’m one proud rooster ‘cause
My hens and eggs were saved.
The hens all still tell stories of
The night I was so brave.

© Deborah Taylor, 2010 All rights reserved