Photo by Sara&Joachim, from Wikimedia Commons |
MEERKAT JUMP ROPE RHYME
eenie
meenie
miney
mo
three little meerkats
all in a row
one looks left
and one looks right
and the third won't
let you out of his sight
three little meerkats
all in a row
eenie
meenie
miney
mo
©Mary Lee Hahn, 2013
From Kevin (Kevin's Meandering Mind):
Wait!
Did you hear that?
Stand still;
Hesitate.
Become the world -
Become the landscape -
Become a statue
and do nothing but
wait.
©Kevin Hodgson, 2013
The podcast of this poem is here.
From Carol (Carol's Corner):
From Carol (Carol's Corner):
"Meerkat"
Me?
Meerkat.
You think I'm kinda funny looking?
Those stripes
on my back?
unique.
none of the other
fifty fellows
in my large mob
(or some people call it a gang or clan)
look exactly like me.
That hairless patch on my belly?
The place
where my black skin shows through?
That absorbs heat while I'm standing
on my rear legs,
early in the morning
after cold Kalahari desert nights.
And those big eyes
on the front of my face?
For watching.
African tribesmen
trust me to
protect their villages
from werewolves
that attack stray cattle
And I gotta take my turn at sentry duty
while others are foraging.
We forage for food
every day
Meerkats don't carry around
any stored body fat.
That long curved claw?
That little hummer
can dig my weight
in sand in only seconds.
Mostly, I'm foraging for insects
but if I'm really hungry
I might dig up a scorpion.
Not to brag,
but did I mention
that unlike you humans
I'm immune to
the venom of scorpions.
And those black crescent-shaped ears?
they close.
keep out soil
when I'm digging
pretty handy
a fella's gotta be able to hear
to protect himself
from brothers
who might want to kill him
to up their status
in our meerkat mob.
My long tapering tail?
Yeah, it's different
from my bushy-tailed
mongoose relatives.
That tail helps me balance when I stand upright,
And I use it
for signaling.
The Dutch didn't call me
stick tail
for nothing.
Me?
Sun angel.
You still think I'm kinda funny looking?
(c) Carol Wilcox, 2013
From Linda (TeacherDance):
Mom says:
“Look at the camera, children.
Smile for Daddy!”
But I keep thinking that something’s up,
and Billy and Jake need to keep their eyes open
for
jackals on the left
lions on the right
and I need to look up
for the eagles.
They call us merely-cats
but we’re always lookin’.
Okay Mom,
we’re going to smile now.
Oops, where’s Billy!
©Linda Baie, 2013
From Cathy (Merely Day by Day):
Sentries
together
we listen for
hawks,
jackals,
eagles.
we watch
tirelessly.
together
we stand
while others
hunt
for lizards,
insects,
birds.
foraging
for food.
we are
ready
at a moment's
notice
to bark
our call,
warning all
to take cover,
to hide
deep
in our tunnels.
together
we stand
strong,
we protect,
we are
the lookouts,
guarding
our mob.
together
we are
one.
©Cathy Mere, 2013
The theme of my 2013 National Poetry Month Project is
"Common Inspiration--Uncommon Creations."
I will be using the media to inspire my poetry, but I am going to invite my students to use my daily media picks to inspire any original creation: poems, stories, comics, music, videos, sculptures, drawings...anything!
You are invited to join the fun, too! Leave a link to your creation in the comments and I'll add it to that day's post. I'll add pictures of my students' work throughout the month as well.