Shark Bite

I’m told that sharks have big teeth
and like to bite from beneath,
hands and feet and a leg or two,
anything that’s good to chew.

So ocean fun is out for me,
I’ll not swim where sharks might be. Then I was told that dogs bite more and bees and wasps I can’t ignore.

Germs and virus all take their toll
and creepy things from deep dark holes.
So, I’ve decided to stay at home
Safe in my bed…and all alone.

From the book Rhyme
and Reason With Animals

Ancient Turtles

Many million years ago in the darkness of the night
a crescent moon shone above, along with stars most bright.
A heavy rolling surf, sired by storms at sea,
pounded the sandy shoreline all night relentlessly.

Tiny movements in the shadows of frozen waves of sand
were scuttling ghost crabs scavenging their lands.
The bubbling surf dissolved into the dark ocean breeze
and then retreated from the mark it temporarily had seized.

That night was no different from every summer night
when ancient rituals occur in the starry light;
when dark shapes appear in the rolling surf
and make their way from black water to their ancient place of birth.

Relentlessly they struggle upward with each bubbling wave
until they reach the place that instinct makes them crave.
High on the shore, in the shadows of sand dunes,
desperate labor begins again, witnessed by the moon.

Heavy breathing and mystic groans are not heard by human ear,
and while they dig their nests they shed reptilian tears.
Finally, when their nests are deep enough, they complete the small miracle
by laying ninety eggs or more, soft and white and spherical.

That was many million years ago, but it is the same today.
Each night upon my beach the turtles come to lay
a clutch of little eggs that have little chance for life.
Compared to their chances I cannot complain of strife.

To witness this ancient miracle brings tears to human eyes,
salty like the ocean from which these reptiles rise.
What if no more marine life survived polluted seas?
What if no more cranes migrated as they pleased?
What if no more tigers hunted prey with stealth?
What if no more turtles crawled from the ocean’s wealth?

Would you stop and shed a tear and feel sincere regret?
Would you wish that you acted so you would not regret
the extinction of the creatures, that so enrich our lives,
and the mysterious great turtles that… did not survive?

Better than the Rest

Wolves are howling; tigers are prowling.
Lions are roaring; squirrels are storing.
Giraffes are reaching; whales are breaching.
Hounds are baying; hens are laying.
Snakes are hissing; lovebirds are kissing.
Cows are mooing; doves are cooing.
Horses are neighing; donkeys are braying.
Bees are stinging; birds are singing.
Crickets are chirping; babies are burping.

All creatures can do one thing the best,
much better than… all of the rest

Coelacanth

So, what's new coelacanth?
What have you done that we can't?
Four hundred million years ago you swam
before dinosaurs walked on land.

You had limbs that would be legs
before reptiles hatched from eggs.
If you had just one free wish
would you be a lobed-fin fish?

Not long ago you were unknown
except from fossils cast in stone.
We thought that you were long extinct,
your portrait drawn in books with ink.

And then on that fateful day
you were caught and put on display
for all the world to see and wonder,
to be dissected and pulled asunder.

There's much that's new since you were born.
Now there're creatures in human form.
I don't know how long they'll last,
but you'll be here when they've passed.

Groups of Things

A group of horses has a word
known to all as a herd.
A bunch of sheep, if you take stock,
gather together in a flock.
A mess of fish is really cool
swimming together in a school.
Tons of whales eating cod
swim together in a pod.
A family of lions, says our guide,
sleep together in a pride.
When wolves get ready to attack,
they gather together in a pack.
When lots of quails get lovey-dovey,
they spend their time in a covey.
When geese pass overhead at night,
we know they are in a flight.
When together on the ground they straggle,
we know them all as a gaggle.
Flocking crows usually hang
out together in a gang.
Buzzing bees take the form
of getting together in a swarm.
Flocking chickens get a boost
by living together in a roost.
Clams in water, it is said,
live together in a bed.
A lot of kids learning fast
are found together in a class.
Rhyming words have been known
to come together in a poem.

Python

The python is a beast most absurd
that’s too long to describe in short words.
It’s long and it’s slim without shoulders and rump.
It’s perfectly smooth without any bumps.

But if you see one with irregular shape,
you’ll know something inside didn’t escape.
It crushes its prey with just one goal,
to fill its belly by swallowing it whole.

Sharing a Cow

Sharing a cow seems to make sense
because savings incurred could be immense.
Find a few friends and chip in together
for a nutritious and frugal endeavor.

Imagine the milk you could get from its udder
to drink by yourself or share with the others.
Fill up your cup fresh from the cow.
Don’t cool it off, drink it right now!
Add some chocolate if you don’t like the taste
‘cause throwing it away would just be a waste.

Milking a cow is not easy to do,
without a lesson you won’t have a clue.
So let me suggest that you find a good teacher
who will show you just how to milk this big creature.

You have to make sure your stream hits the pail.
You have to make sure you don’t get hit by its tail.
You have to know when to squeeze and to pull.
You have to make sure you don’t have a bull.

Sharing a cow, with your friends and neighbors,
takes lots of time and physical labor.
On top of it all you must prepare for the worst.
Unpasturized milk is as bad as a curse.
The disease it can give you will make you all wish
that you got all your protein, instead, from a fish.