IHASMOP

Edwin John Pratt The Shark by Edwin John Pratt His body was tubular And tapered And smoke-blue, And as he passed the wharf He turned, And snapped at a flat-fish That was dead and floating. And I saw the flash of a white throat, And a double row of white teeth, And eyes of metallic grey, Hard and narrow and slit. Then out of the harbour, With that three-cornered fin Shearing without a bubble the water Lithely, Leisurely, He swam—That strange fish, Tubular, tapered, smoke-blue, Part vulture, part wolf, Part neither—for his blood was cold.

“Hope” is the thing with feathers - (314) By Emily DickinsonEmily Dickinson “Hope” is the thing with feathers - That perches in the soul - And sings the tune without the words - And never stops - at all - And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard - And sore must be the storm - That could abash the little Bird That kept so many warm - I’ve heard it in the chillest land - And on the strangest Sea - Yet - never - in Extremity, It asked a crumb - of me.

I like to see it lap the Miles - (383) By Emily DickinsonEmily Dickinson I like to see it lap the Miles - And lick the Valleys up - And stop to feed itself at Tanks - And then - prodigious step Around a Pile of Mountains - And supercilious peer In Shanties - by the sides of Roads - And then a Quarry pare To fit it's sides And crawl between Complaining all the while In horrid - hooting stanza - Then chase itself down Hill - And neigh like Boanerges - Then - prompter than a Star Stop - docile and omnipotent At it's own stable door - I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions. What ever you see I swallow immediately Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike. I am not cruel, only truthful---

Twinkle Twinkle little star: “Twinkle, twinkle little star, How I wonder what you are Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky.” My Family My mom is like a fire. She's always warm, but sometimes she gets too hot. My brother is like a tornado. He always moves fast and spreads destruction wherever he goes. My sister is like a snowstorm. She's pretty to look at and icy at times, but with a little bit of sunshine, that iciness melts. Together we are like a partly cloudy day. We have our moments of darkness and gloom, but the sun always peeks through.

The rusty spigot sputters, utters a splutter, spatters a smattering of drops, gashes wider; slash splatters scatters spurts finally stops sputtering and plash! gushes rushes splashes clear water dashes. Onomatopoeia by Eve Merriam Gathering Leaves (by Robert Frost) Spades take up leaves No better than spoons And bags full of leaves Are light as balloons. I make a great noise Of rustling all day Like rabbit and deer Running away.

Betty Botter by Mother Goose Betty Botter bought some butter, but, she said, the butter’s bitter; if I put it in my batter it will make my batter bitter, but a bit of better butter will make my batter better. So she bought a bit of butter better than her bitter butter, and she put it in her batter and the batter was not bitter. So ’twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter. Silly Sally swiftly shooed seven silly sheep. The seven silly sheep Silly Sally shooed shilly-shallied south. These sheep shouldn’t sleep in a shack; Sheep should sleep in a shed. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers How many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?

What Am I? I’m bigger than the entire earth More powerful than the sea Though a million, billion have tried Not one could ever stop me. I control each person with my hand and hold up fleets of ships. I can make them bend to my will with one word from my lips. I’m the greatest power in the world in this entire nation. No one should ever try to stop a child’s imagination. Appetite In a house the size of a postage stamp lived a man as big as a barge. His mouth could drink the entire river You could say it was rather large For dinner he would eat a trillion beans And a silo full of grain, Washed it down with a tanker of milk As if he were a drain.