Fifteen animal verses Roger wrote for Allie when she was little — one creature at a time, from Aardvark to Zebra.
They were written as one long poem, A Partial Bestiary.
The aardvark’s worthy of our praiseHis name begins with a pair of a’sHe is clever, suave and svelteThe classiest creature on the veldt.
He loves to go and eat his fillAt a convenient termite hillThis is really no malarkeyHe can’t help being aardvarky.
The butterfly’s a killer dillerHe starts life as a caterpillarBut then he tires of that stateAnd decides that he’ll pupate.
Then he hatches and the guyBecomes an adult butterflyAnd the name for all this isComplete metamorphosis.
The chimpanzee lives in a treeHe does not know astronomyHe is brave and he is boldAnd clever as a five year old.
He wears a brightly hued bandannaAnd eats a yellow ripe bananaIf I could choose, I would not beA creature like the chimpanzee.
Behold the friendly crocodileHe always greets you with a smileBut do not ask him for a rideOr you may wind up inside.
If you meet him by a poolJust apply the golden ruleDo not annoy him in his prideLest you end in his inside.
It’s very impolite to laughAt the long neck of the giraffeThe reason why he is so tallNeed not then concern us at all.
He likes to eat the topmost branchesAnd read boring, cheap romancesAnd it’s interesting and trueHe has a real stupendous view.
A furry animal is the gnuHe does not look like me or youFor lions, he’s a tasty feastAnd also called the wildebeest.
He always travels in a herdTo try to change him is absurdIt isn’t profitable, it’s trueTo have a friend who is a gnu.
The hummingbird came down the lineOf blossoms on the trumpet vineHummingbird, green one, I do findYour flight a metaphor for the mind.
Pirouetting, quick as a winkAs fast as the mind can thinkEach migration do you goAcross the Gulf of Mexico.
The kangaroo she is no slouchShe keeps her children in a pouchThe children aren’t very showyAnd each of them is called a joey.
The kangaroo she likes to boundAnd covers lots and lots of groundShe likes to go out to a ballLike any good marsupial.
Look how the foolish ostrich standsWith its head beneath the sandsThe reason why is hard to sayBut he does it anyway.
The ostrich lies on desert plainsTo be oblivious he feignsBut it would be quite absurdTo imitate this silly bird.
Behold the bird known as the owlHe loves to eat both fish or fowlAnd does his hunting all the nightAnd he finds that quite all right.
The owl, they say, is very wiseAnd easy is to recognizeAnd the bird is nearly muteExcept when he will give a hoot.
A funny creature is the sealIt doesn’t have much sex appealIt doesn’t wear expensive clothesBut balances a ball upon its nose.
The seals live in big coloniesWhich practically obstruct the breezeYou ask what is their favorite dishIt is, you’re right, a plate of fish.
The spider’s a creature very greatThe number of his legs is eightHe spins a web to catch his preyAnd so he lives from day to day
When he has a fine web spunHe likes to bask beneath the sunYou won’t believe it till you’ve tried aFriend as useful as a spider.
A lovely creature is the vultureHe is an advocate of cultureHe likes it not if you ask whyHe spends his days up in the sky.
The vulture dives upon the deadWhich is one way to get aheadIt would be better if he could singAnd get his meals at Burger King.
The whale’s the biggest one of allHis spout is like a waterfallHe does not use an escalatorAnd mostly lives near the equator.
To see a whale is quite a treatHe grows up to a hundred feetHe is not a rank landlubberAnd people hunt him for his blubber.
The zebra’s coat is black on whiteOr white and blackIs he a sight!!
Roger didn’t finish this one. He wrote “rest of poem to follow.”
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